rui_ANU     u.     HUS5EY 
U.     C.      L.     A 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 


THE 

TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 


DR.  OSKAR  JAEGER 


TRANSLATED    BY 

H.  J.  CHAYTOR,  M.A. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

C.  H.   FIRTH,   M.A. 

REGIUS    PROFESSOR    OF   MODERN    HISTORY   IN   THE    UNIVERSITY    OF   OXFORD 


CHICAGO 

A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO. 
1915 


ML 

(j^Jh  UNIVERSITY 

jA|r-  SANTA  BARBARA 


TRANSLATORS   NOTE 

Of  the  many  educational  institutions  in  Germany, 
four  are  mentioned  in  the  following  pages  :  the 
Gymnasium,  or  classical  school  ;  the  Realschule,  and 
the  Oberrealschule.  The  two  latter  correspond  to 
our  "  modern  school,"  and  give  a  modern  education, 
teaching  no  Latin  or  Greek.  The  Realgymnasium 
is  a  compromise  between  these  two  types,  and  gives 
a  modern  education,  while  at  the  same  time  teaching 
Latin.  All  are  organized  upon  the  basis  of  a  nine 
years'  course,  and  the  forms  or  classes  are  arranged 
as  follows,  beginning  with  the  lowest : 


Sexta 

translated  First  Form. 

Quint  a     - 

,,          Second  Form. 

Quarta     - 

Third  Form. 

Unter  Tertia    - 

,,           Lower  Fourth  Form. 

Ober  Tertia      - 

,,           Upper  Fourth  Form. 

Unter  Sekunda 

,,           Lower  Fifth  Form. 

Ober  Sekunda  - 

,,           Upper  Fifth  Form. 

Unter  Prima    - 

„           Lower  Sixth  Form. 

Ober  Prima 

„           Upper  Sixth  Form. 

CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTORY 

PAOES 

Relation  of  the  Classical  and  Modern  School  to  history- 
teaching — Nature  of  the  Classical  School — What  is 
history  ? — Goethe's  words  upon  enthusiasm — The 
objective  method  of  historical  narrative — How  far 
possible— The  history  teacher  and  literature — In  what 
class  should  history  teaching  begin  ?  -  -  1-14 

I 

PRELIMINARY  STAGE 

FIRST  AND  SECOND  FORMS 

History  teaching  and  the  training  of  the  historical  sense — 
Influences  upon  the  latter  concurrent  with  the  history 
teaching — Latin — German — Historical  material  in  the 
reading-book  is  not  historical  teaching — Religious 
instruction  the  first  form  of  historical  teaching — Im- 
portance of  "  Bible  history  " — Geography — Different 
position  of  the  modern  school — Its  want  of  the  his- 
torical language,  Latin      ....         15-30 

II 
INTERMEDIATE  STAGE 

FROM  THE  THIRD  TO  THE  LOWER  FIFTH  FORM 

True  historical  teaching  first  possible  in  the  Third  Form — 
Reasons   for    this — Preliminary    questions — Distorted 
vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAOKS 

views  The  proposal  thai  history  should  be  taught 
backwards  B  [in  with  the  history  of  antiquity,  of 
the  Greeks  and  Romans     Reasons  for  this  -        31-36 

THIRD  FORM 
The  period  to  be  Btudied  -Pupils1  character  at  this  stage — 
Relationship  oi  hi  itory  to  the  other  subjects  of  study : 
I  ii.  French,  Divinity,  German,  geography — Period 
tn  l«'  Btudied  by  the  Third  Form — Object  to  be  aimed 
at — Means  of  instruction— The  text-book — Its  require- 
ments and  mistakes — Tho  teacher  and  his  lecture — 
Relation  be1  ween  led  ore  and  text-book — Moral  effects 
— Exaggeral  ions  -  Avoidance  of  preaching — Homework 
In  be  given  rarely,  and  to  be  moderate  in  amount — 
Revision  of  two  kinds — The  revision  of  long  sections — 
The  first  training  in  using  historical  material  already 
learnt — Leading  ideas  for  such  revisions — Completion 
of  the  period  set  to  the  Form        -  -  -         36-50 

FOURTH  FORM 

The  course  laid  down  in  the  Prussian  syllabus — The  pupils' 
character  at  this  stage — The  need  of  discipline — The 
influence  of  patriotic  motives — A  glance  at  earlier 
syllabuses — The  influences  of  other  subjects  upon  his- 
torical training-  (.reek  and  Latin — Caesar  and  Xeno- 
phon  French  and  ESnglish  modern  schools — German 
and  Divinity  Bistorical  instruction  and  geography — 
Criticism  of  the  Prussian  regulations  for  teaching  the 
latter  subject — Mode  of  procedure  in  the  Upper  Fourth 
— Text-boob  to  be  used  differently  in  the  Third  and  . 
Fourth  Form  The  teacher's  lecture — Xo  enforced 
enthusiasm— How  a  nation  can  be  told  the  truth— 
The  treatment  of  medieval  history — Difficulties — 
[ecclesiastical  and  dogmatic  movements — The  period 
to  lie  covered  by  the  Upper  Fourth — The  religious 
difficulty  arising  after  1517,  partially  recognized  and 
ted  Some  counter-home  influences  —  Re- 
vision General  revisions  for  individual  lessons — 
Classical  and  modem  schools         -  -  -        57-93 


CONTENTS  ix 

PAGES 

LOWER  FIFTH 

Characteristics  of  this  Form  as  concluding  a  school  course — 
Influence  of  other  subjects  upon  historical  teaching — 
Greek,  Latin,  French,  German,  history,  and  geography 
— Importance  and  treatment  of  the  latter — Connexion 
of  the  utilitarian  and  scientific  elements — The  period 
to  be  covered  by  the  Lower  Fifth — Consequent  diffi- 
culties— Procedure  to  be  followed  in  the  distribution 
of  the  whole — Introduction — A  history  of  Branden- 
burg-Prussia— Principles  of  description — Economic 
information — Detailed  teaching  and  its  limitations — 
Concluding  point — Style  of  teaching — The  extempore 
lecture — Revision — The  taking  of  notes — The  practice 
of  oral  revision — General  revision — Home  reading  and 
other  modes  of  stimulus    -  -  -  -       93-117 


III 
THE  HIGHER  STAGES 

UPPER  FIFTH,  LOWER  SIXTH,  UPPER  SIXTH 

The  second  progress  through  history  begun — Upper  Fifth 
side  influences  from  Divinity,  German,  French,  Latin, 
Greek,  geography — The  historical  teaching — The 
period  to  be  covered  in  Prussia — The  treatment  of 
ancient  history  with  reduced  time  at  disposal — 
Pictures  as  a  teaching  means — Home  reading — Ex- 
tempore lecturing  as  before — Revision — Consideration 
of  the  "  Compositions  in  Miniature  "  of  the  Prussian 
syllabus       -  -  -  -  -  -     118-139 

SIXTH  FORM 

The  period  to  be  covered — Influence  of  the  various  subjects 
of  instruction  upon  the  education  of  the  pupil  and 
upon  the  historical  side  of  this  education — German, 
Divinity  and  languages — Source-books,  so  called — 
Latin  and  Greek  text-books  historical  sources  in  the 


x  CONTENTS 

highe  '    ena   oi  the  term     Branch  and  English  from 

this  point  oi  view— Their  various  importance  in  the 
olassioa]  and  modern  schools — Applied  geography — 
The  distribution  of  the  period  to  be  covered — Con- 
sideration of  economic  teaching — "To  the  present 
day  " —  Text-book — Lecture  —  Medieval  history — Its 
difficulties  -Nature  of  the  material — The  religious 
difficulty  The  trial  of  Hubs— The  history  of  the 
Reformatio]]  to  1648  Modem  history  from  the 
point  of  view  of  general  European  and  German 
history— Arrangement  and  distribution  of  the  matter 
in  the  Lower  and  Upper  Sixth — Tho  first  period,  1517- 
1648  The  second  period  and  its  three  sections — The 
third  period  from  1789  onwards — Its  treatment — Tho 
lasl  sections,  1863-1871 — Leading  ideas  for  revisions — 
Character  of  the  instruction  at  this  stage — Concluding 
remarks 139-193 

APPENDIX 

Lecture  to  a  Third  Form,  "  After  tho  Battle  of  Carinas  " — 
To  a  Lower  Fourth  Form,  "  Events  after  Canossa  " — 
To  an  Upper  Fourth  Form,  "  Revisions  " — To  a  Lower 
Fifth  Form,  "Condition  of  the  German  Empire  in  the 
eighteenth  century"  (before  1789) — For  a  Sixth  Form, 
eighty-six  questions  as  ideas  for  revisions,  or  for  oial 
work  in  the  school-leaving  examination     -  -     194-222 


INTRODUCTION 

Dr.  Jaeger's  book  will  be  useful  to  English  teachers 
for  many  reasons.  It  supplies  a  picture  of  the 
ordinary  method  of  teaching  history  in  Prussian 
schools,  both  classical  and  modern.  It  explains 
the  aims  which  that  teaching  is  meant  to  attain,  the 
reasons  which  dictate  the  choice  of  particular  his- 
torical periods,  and  determine  the  order  in  which 
those  periods  shall  be  studied,  and  the  relation  of 
history  to  other  studies  forming  part  of  the  course. 
Without  entering  too  much  into  detail,  it  gives  a 
sufficient  number  of  examples  and  particulars  to 
make  the  general  principles  upon  which  the  course 
is  based  perfectly  clear,  and  to  show  how  it  works  in 
practice. 

The  practical  object  with  which  the  book  is 
written  increases  its  value.  Its  aim  is  limited. 
Dr.  Jaeger  does  not  wish  to  set  forth  a  better 
system  of  teaching  history,  but  to  explain  one  which 
actually  exists.  Now  and  then  he  criticizes  it  or 
suggests  some  modification  ;  he  is  somewhat  con- 
servative, and  inclined  to  think  that  recent  changes 
have  not  been  altogether  improvements.     But  he 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

remains  throughoul  a  schoolmaster  writing  for 
other  schoolmasters,  in  order  to  show  them,  by  the 
light  of  bis  own  experience,  how  to  make  the  b<  b1 
of  the  system  they  have  to  work.  Having  had 
fifty  years'  experience,  he  is  able  to  understand  all 
the  difficulties  which  a  teacher  encounters  in  the 
attempt  to  carry  out  one  of  these  comprehensive 
schemes  of  historical  instruction,  and  knows  how 
they  can  best  be  overcome.  The  scheme  itself  is 
one  wliieh  deserves  careful  consideration,  for  the 
curriculum  of  the  Prussian  secondary  schools  was 
carefully  planned  to  begin  with,  and  carefully 
revised  at  intervals  by  the  light  of  expert  criticism. 
It  represents  a  gradual  growth,  and  has  stood  the 
test  of  time. 

For  these  reasons  it  seemed  desirable  to  publish 
a  translation  of  Dr.  Jaeger's  book.  The  problems 
which  a  teacher  of  history  has  to  solve  are  the  same 
in  all  countries,  however  much  their  educational 
systems  differ.  Therefore,  although  the  organiza- 
tion of  English  schools,  and  the  conditions  under 
which  history  has  to  be  taught  in  them,  may  differ 
very  widely  from  those  which  exist  in  Germany, 
there  is  much  to  be  learnt  by  English  teachers  from 
the  study  of  the  system  of  historical  education 
which  these  pages  set  forth.  The  conditions  are, 
indeed,  very  different.  One  great  distinction  be- 
tween German  Gymnasien  and  English  public  schools 
is  this.  The  German  educational  system  pre- 
snpposes  a  nine  years'  course  passed  in  one  school  ; 
the   English  system   usually  involves  three  or  four 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

years  spent  at  a  preparatory  school,  followed  by 
five  or  six  at  a  public  school.  It  is  plain  that  the 
carrying  out  of  a  systematic  scheme  of  historical 
instruction,  or  instruction  of  any  other  kind,  is  far 
more  easily  effected  under  the  conditions  which 
prevail  in  Germany  than  it  would  be  in  England. 
For  here,  as  we  all  know  by  the  published  reports 
of  their  discussions,  there  is  no  agreement  between 
the  headmasters  of  the  public  schools  and  the 
headmasters  of  the  schools  which  prepare  boys  for 
them  on  the  most  fundamental  questions  relating 
to  the  curriculum. 

A  second  difference  in  organization  is  this.  The 
existence  of  a  fixed  curriculum  like  the  German  one 
presupposes  and  necessitates  a  certain  fixity  and 
unity  in  the  constitution  of  each  form.  German 
boys  remain  in  the  same  form  for  a  year  together, 
and  then  move  up  in  a  body  to  the  next  form.  It 
is  therefore  possible  to  arrange  that  a  boy  shall 
go  through  a  certain  period  of  history  one  year  and 
another  period  the  next  year,  finishing  one  before 
he  proceeds  to  the  next.  In  an  English  public 
school,  with  terminal  or  half-yearly  promotions  of 
the  top  boys  from  one  form  to  another,  the  com- 
position of  a  form  is  continually  changing.  This  is 
a  real  obstacle  to  any  consecutive  course  of  historical 
study,  though  it  may  be  partially  overcome  by 
various  expedients. 

Another  principle  involved  in  the  existence  of  a 
fixed  curriculum  is  the  assignment  of  a  definite  and 
an   adequate    amount   of   time   to   each   particular 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

subject.  Tn  the  Prussian  curriculum,  for  instance, 
tun  or  three  hours  a  week  during  the  whole  of  a 
I  p.  (v's  school  life  are  devoted  to  history.  For  without 
a  definite  and  an  adequate  allowance  of  time  through- 
out no  consecutive  treatment  of  the  subject  would 
l>r  possible,  still  less  any  scientific  or  scholarly 
beaching.  In  English  public  schools,  however,  the 
time  allotted  to  the  subject  varies  from  school  to 
school,  and  from  form  to  form  in  the  same  school, 
according  to  the  caprice  of  individual  head  masters. 
One  head  master  may  assign  an  adequate  number  of 
hours  to  history;  another  may  stop  the  study  of 
history  altogether  for  the  classical  side  at  a  certain 
form  in  the  school,  and  continue  it  only  on  the 
modern  side,  or  in  the  army  class  ;  a  third,  still  less 
intelligent,  may  seek  to  banish  it  altogether  to 
preparatory  schools. 

All  these  eccentricities  are  still  possible,  although 
there  has  been  in  the  last  twenty  years  some  improve- 
ment in  the  teaching  of  history  in  the  public  schools 
and  in  secondary  schools  in  general.  The  German 
system  postulates  the  existence  of  a  central  authority 
with  definite  ideas  as  to  what  boys  should  learn  at 
school,  and  power  to  enforce  the  adoption  of  its 
ideas.  That  is  the  fundamental  difference.  In  the 
case  of  English  secondary  education  there  is  no  such 
authority.  Instead  of  it  there  are  some  dozens  of 
authorities  which  seek  to  influence  the  teaching  given 
in  schools,  and  do  it  by  prescribing  examinations 
rather  than  by  coming  to  some  agreement  as  to  the 
best  kind  of   curriculum  for   each   particular  type 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

of  school.  There  are  Government  examinations 
such  as  those  for  the  army  and  navy  and  the  various 
branches  of  the  Civil  Service,  and  some  of  those 
conducted  by  the  Board  of  Education.  There  are 
the  Universities,  old  and  new,  with  their  entrance 
examinations — or  preliminary  examinations  of  much 
the  same  nature  as  entrance  examinations  —  and 
with  scholarship  examinations  established  by  various 
colleges,  and  intended  to  reward  proficiency  in 
various  subjects.  There  are  special  boards  set  up 
by  the  Universities  for  the  special  benefit  of  schools, 
such  as  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  "  Locals  "  and 
"  Joint  Board,"  each  with  its  different  examination. 
Last  of  all  come  special  examinations,  such  as  those 
for  solicitors  or  chartered  accountants,  and  those  of 
associations,  such  as  the  College  of  Preceptors. 

All  these  various  examining  authorities  differ  as 
to  their  requirements.  There  is  no  agreement 
amongst  them  on  the  question  whether  boys  ought 
to  learn  history  at  school  or  not.  It  is  a  necessary 
subject  in  examinations  for  naval  cadets  and  naval 
clerks,  in  the  qualifying  examination  for  the  army, 
and  in  the  matriculation  examinations  of  the  Scottish 
Universities,  the  Universities  of  Wales  and  of 
Birmingham,  and  the  four  new  Northern  Uni- 
versities. It  is  an  optional  subject  in  the  schools 
examinations  established  by  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
and  no  knowledge  of  history  is  required  for  admis- 
sion to  either  of  those  ancient  seats  of  learning. 
This  uncertainty  on  a  fundamental  question  pre- 
vents history  from  obtaining  its  proper  place  in  the 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


ourricu] As   greal    an   obstacle  to  the  efficient 

t ,  aching  of  I  be  subject ,  where  it  is  taught  in  schools, 
[e  the  disagreemenl  between  these  examining  bodies 
as  to  Hi'  amounl  of  history  and  the  kind  of  history 
required.  When  it  is  a  necessary  subject  candidates 
are  usually  required  to  pass  in  the  Outlines  of  English 
History,  or,  as  the  Scottish  Universities  better  define 
it,  of  British  History.  The  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
Bohools  examinations  require  portions  of  English  his- 
tory, but  disagree  as  to  the  length  of  the  portions  and 
as  to  the  question  where  any  particular  period  should 
begin  or  end.  In  their  preliminary,  junior,  senior, 
and  higher  examinations,  the  historical  demands  of 
the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Locals  disagree,  and  the 
examinations  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Joint 
Board  introduce  new  disagreements  and  additional 
complexity. 

What  are  the  results  of  this  superabundance  of 
examining  authorities  with  their  conflicting  require- 
ments \  One  result  is  that  the  systematic  and 
thorough  teaching  of  history  in  schools  is  rendered 
impossible.  Another  is  that  advanced  teaching  of 
history  in  the  Universities  is  rendered  excessively 
difficull .  Boys  study  a  period  or  an  epoch  at  school 
without  properly  learning  the  outlines  of  the  political 
history  of  the  British  Empire.  So  out  of  half  a  dozen 
men  beginning  to  read  for  the  Modern  History  School 
.it  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  one  knows  the  Tudors, 
another  the  Stuarts,  a  third  the  Hanoverian  period, 
and  others  other  scraps,  but  they  have  not  all  six 
the  common  stock  of  sound  elementary  knowledge 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

which  is  the  necessary  basis  for  University  teaching. 
Every  college  history  tutor  has  to  spend  much  of 
his  time  in  teaching  undergraduates  elementary 
historical  facts  which  they  ought  to  have  learnt  at 
school.  This  is  detrimental  to  the  tutor  himself, 
and  lowers  the  standard  of  teaching  at  the  Uni- 
versities. 

The  existence  of  a  school  curriculum  imposed  by 
Government  has  various  drawbacks,  but  they  are 
less  serious  than  those  which  arise  from  the  absence 
of  any  generally-accepted  scheme  of  studies,  and 
from  the  pressure  of  discordant  examinations. 
Whilst  we  criticize  the  rigidity  of  foreign  systems, 
we  sanctify  the  anarchy  of  our  own  by  baptizing 
it  "  elasticity." 

In  such  a  condition  of  things  all  that  English 
teachers  of  history  can  do — until  secondary  educa- 
tion in  all  its  branches  is  taken  in  hand  by  our 
Government — is  to  imitate  the  example  of  American 
teachers  of  history.  Finding  the  subject  neglected 
or  badly  taught  in  American  schools,  they  proceeded 
by  forming  local  and  general  associations,  and  by 
holding  conferences,  to  arrive  at  some  agreement 
amongst  themselves  as  to  the  best  methods  of  teach- 
ing, and  the  best  kind  of  curriculum.  Having  reached 
a  '  substantial  agreement '  on  these  points,  they  went 
on  to  attempt  to  influence  the  makers  of  school 
programmes  and  the  authorities  controlling  entrance 
examinations  to  colleges  and  Universities.  This 
movement,  which  began  in  1891,  has  met  with  a 
considerable    amount    of    success.     "  The    progress 

b 


xviii  [INTRODUCTION 

ih.it  has  been  made  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen 
years  is  encouraging,'9  writes  an  American  professor. 
"Although  history  does  not  yet  receive  the  recogni- 
tion w  hit 'h  is  due  to  so  important  a  subject,  its  value 
is  better  understood,  its  objects  are  more  clearly 
defined,  the  methods  of  teaching  it  are  more  fully 
developed.  Some  things  remain  to  be  done.  At 
present  in  the  elementary  schools,  and  to  a  large 
extent  in  the  secondary  schools,  the  subject  is 
assigned  to  teachers  who  know  little  about  it,  and 
who  have  never  been  adequately  trained  to  teach  it. 
A  little  study  of  history  in  college  is  not  enough,  and 
even  this  is  usually  lacking.  The  remedy  here  can 
come  only  through  the  strengthening  of  the  college 
work  in  history,  and  through  more  adequate  courses 
of  instruction  in  the  normal  schools.  Quite  as 
important  as  this  is  the  realization  on  the  part  of  the 
makers  of  programmes  that  we  live  not  merely  in 
the  United  States,  but  also  in  the  world.  Another 
decade  should  not  pass  before  the  work  in  history 
in  the  American  schools  is  made  as  comprehensive, 
and  is  entrusted  to  as  well-trained  teachers,  as  is  the 
case  in  France  and  in  Germany."  * 

American  teachers  reached  the  "  substantial 
agreement  "  Professor  Bourne  speaks  of  not  only  by 
means  of  repeated  discussions  amongst  themselves, 
but  by  means  of  careful  inquiry  into  the  systems  of 
historical  education  pursued  in  various  European 
states.     Reports  were  drawn  up  on  the  teaching  of 

*  H.  E.  Bourne,  The  Teaching  of  History  and  Civics  in  (he 
Elementary  and  Secondary  School,  p.  76  (Longmans.  1903). 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

history  in  Germany,  France,  and  other  countries  in 
order  to  supply  the  members  of  the  American 
Historical  Association  with  exact  information  as  to 
what  was  actually  done  in  foreign  schools,  and  with 
the  materials  for  forming  a  judgment  as  to  what 
should  be  done  in  their  own.*  Amongst  other 
things  they  inquired  into  historical  education  in 
English  schools,  and  their  report  states  that,  "  owing 
to  the  well-known  chaotic  condition  of  English 
secondary  education,"  they  are  unhappily  prevented 
from  saying  what  our  system  is.  However,  it  is 
not  this  incidental  criticism  that  concerns  us  just 
now,  but  the  practical  and  scientific  manner  in 
which  the  American  teachers  set  to  work  to  solve 
their  own  problem.  That  is  what  we  ought  to 
imitate.  Only  by  a  similar  process  will  it  be 
possible  for  English  teachers  of  history  to  arrive  at 
sound  conclusions,  and  to  come  to  some  consensus 
of  opinion  amongst  themselves  as  to  the  best 
historical  curriculum  for  English  schools.  Dr. 
Jaeger's  book  has  been  translated  as  a  contribution 
to  this  object — that  is,  in  order  to  supply  English 
teachers  with  facts  which  will  help  them  to  form  a 
right  judgment  on  questions  of  principle.  The 
system  described  is  not  held  up  as  a  copy  to  be 
imitated,  but  as  a  solution  of  the  question  we  have 
to  solve  which  is  worth  studying  and  understanding. 
To  make  this  understanding  easier  the  translator, 

*  The  Study  of  History  in  Schools:  Report  to  the  American 
Historical  Association  by  the  Committee  of  Seven  (Macmillan, 
1903). 

b—2 


xx  INTRODUCTION 

as  he  explains  iii  Ins  prefatory  note,  has  rendered 
the  names  of  the  forms  in  a  German  school,  not  by 
their  literal  meaning,  hut  by  their  equivalents  in 
Knglish  nomenclature.  In  the  tabular  statement  of 
the  historical  curriculum  of  a  Prussian  gymnasien 
which  follows,  the  same  method  has  been  adopted, 
but  the  German  names  of  the  forms  are  given  in 
brackets  in  order  to  facilitate  comparison  with  other 
accounts  of  German  education.  A  good  description 
of  the  whole  curriculum,  of  the  various  kinds  of 
schools,  and  of  the  history  and  organization  of 
secondary  education  in  Germany  will  be  found  in 
J.  E.  Russell's  German  Higher  Schools  (Longmans, 
1905). 


PRELIMINARY  STAGE 

First  Form  (Sexta) — Second  Form  (Quinta) 

Age  of  boys  from  nine  to  eleven  or  eleven  and  a 
half.  In  both  forms  the  work  is  not,  in  the  strict 
sense  of  the  word,  history,  but  rather  a  preparation 
for  it.  It  is  regarded  as  part  of  the  teaching  of 
German.  History  is  replaced  by  tales  of  the  great 
men  of  ancient,  medieval,  or  modern  times,  and  by 
the  legends  of  classical  antiquity.  In  the  first  form 
four  hours  a  week  are  devoted  to  these  subjects  ;  in 
the  second,  three.  In  both  forms  two  hours  a  week 
are  devoted  to  geography. 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE 

Third  Form  {Quarto) 

Outlines  of  Greek  History  to  the  death  of  Alex- 
ander, and  of  Roman  History  to  the  death  of 
Augustus,  two  hours  a  week.  Two  hours  a  week 
are  also  devoted  to  the  geography  of  Europe,  and 
three  hours  a  week  to  German  literature  and  German 
composition. 

Lower  Fourth  Form  (Unter-tertia) 

The  history  of  Germany  up  to  1517,  two  hours  a 
week.  Geography,  the  non-European  continents 
and  the  German  colonies,  one  hour  a  week.  German 
literature,  two  hours  a  week. 

Upper  Fourth  Form  (Ober-tertia) 

The  history  of  Germany  from  1517  to  1740,  two 
hours  a  week.  Geography  of  the  German  Empire, 
one  hour  a  week.  German  literature,  two  hours  a 
week. 

Lower  Fifth  Form  (Unter-sekunda) 

German  history,  1740  to  1871,  two  hours  a  week. 
Political  geography  of  Europe,  one  hour  a  week. 
German  literature  (Schiller's  plays,  etc.)  and  com- 
position, three  hours  a  week. 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

HIGHER    STAGE 

Ii'i'ii:   Fifth  Form  (Ober-sekunda) 

Ancient  history  to  the  fall  of  the  Western  Empire 
in  A.i).  47(>.  Geography  ceases  to  be  an  independent 
subject,  though  some  geographical  teaching  is  given 
in  connexion  with  the  history  studied.  Three  hours 
a  week  is  allotted  to  the  joint  subject.  German 
literature  and  composition  also  obtain  three  hours  a 
week. 

Lower  Sixth  Form  (Unter-prima) 

European  history  from  476  to  1648.  Geography 
in  connexion  with  the  history  studied,  as  in  the  class 
below.  Three  hours  a  week  for  the  joint  subject. 
German  literature  and  composition,  three  hours  a 
week. 

Upper  Sixth  Form  (Ober-prima) 

European  history  from  1648  to  1871,  with  the 
briefest  sketch  of  events  subsequent  to  1871,  three 
hours  a  week.  Geography  only  so  far  as  it  is  con- 
nected with  the  history  studied.  German  literature 
and  composition,  three  hours. 

In  constructing  tins  outline  of  the  historical 
curriculum  of  the  Prussian  classical  schools,  it 
seemed  unnecessary  to  add  particulars  as  to  that  of 
the  modern  schools,  winch  is  essentially  the  same. 


INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

But  it  seemed  desirable  to  insert  some  particulars  as 
to  the  two  studies  most  closely  related  to  history — 
viz.,  geography,  and  the  national  literature  and 
language.  Further  details  as  to  those  two  studies 
will  be  found  in  Dr.  Jaeger's  pages. 

The  principles  underlying  the  curriculum  are 
plainly  apparent.  In  the  first  place,  the  study  of 
history  is  carefully  correlated  with  kindred  studies 
so  far  as  it  seems  possible.  Very  close  correlation, 
as  Dr.  Jaeger  points  out,  is  not  always  either  possible 
or  desirable.  History  is  comprehensively  studied  ; 
the  course  includes  European  history  as  well  as 
ancient  history  and  national  history.  It  is  con- 
secutively treated  ;  boys  begin  with  ancient  history, 
and  proceed  to  modern  history  only  after  they  have 
some  acquaintance  with  the  remoter  past.  In  the 
study  of  national  history  the  chronological  order  is 
strictly  adhered  to.  Thus  the  sense  of  continuity 
and  development,  which  is  the  essence  of  history,  is 
preserved  and  fostered,  instead  of  being  destroyed  as 
it  is  by  our  method  of  teaching  shreds  and  patches 
of  history. 

Another  characteristic  also  needs  noting.  In  the 
German  curriculum  there  is  what  Dr.  Jaeger  terms 
"  a  twofold  progress  through  the  centuries,"  or,  as  we 
should  say,  there  are  "two  cycles."  In  the  inter- 
mediate stage  boys  go  through  the  outlines  of 
ancient  and  modern  history  from  the  time  of  the 
Greeks  to  the  nineteenth  century.  In  the  higher 
stage  they  go  over  the  same  ground  again,  treating 
the  national  history  no  longer  as  a  separate  subject 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

but  as  part  of  European  history.  The  arguments  in 
favour  of  this  plan  are  obvious.  It  recognizes  the 
difference  between  the  powers  of  the  boys'  mind  at 
different  ages,  and  thus  obviates  the  common 
objection  that  adherence  to  the  chronological  order 
obliges  boys  to  study  the  most  difficult  periods  of 
history  when  they  are  least  able  to  understand 
them.  It  allows  a  more  thorough  and  a  more 
scientific  treatment  of  the  subject  during  the  higher 
stage,  because  a  certain  basis  of  elementary  know- 
ledge has  been  assured. 

This  particular  characteristic  appears  not  only  in 
the  Prussian,  but  in  all  other  German  schemes  for 
the  teaching  of  history  in  schools,  and  reappears,  too, 
in  the  curriculum  of  French  secondary  schools.  A 
principle  on  which  there  is  so  general  a  consensus  of 
expert  opinion  should  become  an  axiom  with  English 
teachers  of  history.  Our  object  should  be  to  adapt 
the  results  of  European  experience  to  English 
needs.  At  present  in  English  historical  education 
many  things  seem  to  be  accepted  as  fixed  principles 
which  are  merely  local  prejudices,  or  else  traditional 
opinions  which  have  never  been  rationally  recon- 
sidered. Such,  for  instance,  are  the  prevalent  views 
that  the  teaching  of  epochs  is  more  easy  and  profit- 
able than  that  of  outlines,  that  European  history  is 
too  difficult  to  be  taught  in  schools,  and  that  history 
is  a  subject  which  may  usefully  be  studied  in  the 
lower  forms,  but  can  safely  be  omitted  in  the  higher 
forms. 

C.  H.  FIRTH. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 


INTRODUCTORY 

The  following  pages  do  not  claim  to  propose  any 
reform  or  transformation  of  historical  teaching  in 
our  German  secondary  schools  and  in  kindred  or 
parallel  educational  institutions  ;  still  less  do  they 
attempt  to  base  any  pedagogic  theory  of  the  teaching 
of  this  subject  upon  psychological  or  educational 
considerations  ;  nor,  again,  do  they  claim  to  formu- 
late the  true  task  and  the  ultimate  object  of  his- 
torical teaching,  as  though  these  were  yet  unknown. 
So  far  as  we  can  see,  the  teaching  of  history  in  our 
secondary  schools  requires  no  organic  reform  or 
modification  of  any  radical  kind,  any  more  than 
has  been  necessary  in  our  Prussian  and  German 
secondary  school  system.  All  that  is  required  is 
prudent  guidance,  which  can  be  gained  by  careful 
consideration  and  continued  learning  on  the  part 
of  those  entrusted  with  this  instruction  ;  in  simpler 
words  the  chief  requirement  is  good  teachers, 
recognized  as  such  because  they  steadily  improve 
their  teaching  powers,  and  not  because  they  write 
or  even  read  a  great  deal  about  the  reform  of  the 
instruction    entrusted    to   them.     The    author  can 

1 


2  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

look  back  upon  an  experience  of  fifty  years  of  his- 
torical teaching — an  experience  that  has  forced  him 
to  examine  the  subject  from  the  most  different 
points  of  view.  He  has  read  and  heard  many 
discussions  upon  the  subject,  and  has  himself 
written  and  spoken  upon  it.  He  does  not,  however, 
propose  to  quote  from  these  sources,*  but  merely 
to  expound  what  his  own  mistakes  and  investigations 
have  taught  him,  docendo  discens,  in  the  last  fifty 
years.  He  thus  proposes  to  attack  the  problem  in 
a  more  concrete  manner  than  the  majority  of  discus- 
sions upon  it  are  able  to  do,  and  to  consider  upon 
what  points  the  teacher's  attention  should  be 
directed  who  has  to  teach  history  at  any  stage  within 
our  German  educational  institutions,  whether  they 
contain  nine,  seven,  or  six  forms,  in  this  twentieth 
century. 

As  we  shall  see,  the  problem  is  both  simple  and  yet 
comprehensive. 

These  institutions  are  divided  into  classical  and 
modern  schools — into  schools  with  or  without  Latin, 
to  use  the  popular  expression.  Hence  it  is  obvious 
that  in  discussing  history  and  its  teaching  we  must 
direct  our  attention  in  the  first  place  to  the  classical 

*  The  literature  of  the  subject  is  to  be  found  admirably 
complete  in  Schiller,  Handbuch  der  praktisclien  Pddagogik,  2, 
p.  535  ff.  Mention  must  also  be  made  of  the  Methodologie  de 
V ' enseignement  moyen  by  a  Belgian  scholar. — Professor  Collard.  of 
the  University  of  Louvain  (Brussels,  Maison  d'Edition  Alfred 
( 'astaignc.  1903) ;  see  p.  382  ff.  (L'histoire).  We  can  recommend 
[  the  whole  section :  criticism  from  a  foreigner's  point  of  view  is 
always  useful. 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

schools,  for  the  reason  that  the  training  there  given 
is  primarily  historical,  and  is  based  upon  a  close  and 
continual  study  of  the  past  as  displayed  in  Greek 
and  Roman  literature  and  history.  Only  upon  this 
basis  is  it  possible  to  explain  the  true  meaning  of 
history  and  historical  instruction  for  boys  between 
the  ages  of  nine  and  eighteen,  and  only  so  can  we 
form  a  picture  of  that  ideal  which  every  scientific  or 
intellectual  pursuit  of  any  kind  must  necessarily 
keep  in  view.  Not  until  this  ideal  has  been  dis- 
covered can  we  discuss  the  objects  and  the  means  of 
history-teaching  in  the  case  of  those  schools  which 
are  primarily  occupied  with  the  facts  of  modern  life, 
with  modern  languages,  and  modern  science. 

This  order  has  not  been  adopted  from  any  idea 
that  the  classical  are  to  be  regarded  as  the  more  dis- 
tinguished schools.  Classical  and  modern  schools 
have  been  solemnly  recognized  in  Prussia  as 
"  equivalent  in  value ";  this  they  are  and  have 
been,  in  their  respective  styles  and  places.  We  do 
not,  in  fact,  recognize  any  distinctions  of  rank 
between  the  different  categories  of  schools,  so  that 
we  need  not  emphasize  the  national  importance  of 
the  fact  that  historical  teaching  in  the  modern  schools 
should  be  properly  conducted.  Of  girls'  schools  we 
say  nothing  ;  the  question  demands  special  investi- 
gation, for  which  we  do  not  possess  the  requisite 
knowledge,  though  at  the  same  time  we  would 
assert  our  conviction  of  the  extreme  importance  of 
this  subject.  The  modern  Latin  schools  (Real- 
yymnasien)  we  class  in  general  with  the  classical 

1—2 


4  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

schools,  laying  no  special  stress  upon  the  difference 
of  their  curriculum  from  that  of  the  true  classical 
school  ;  the  history  teacher  will  very  easily  be 
able  to  make  those  slight  modifications  demanded  by 
the  difference  between  the  two  organizations.  More- 
over, it  is  impossible  to  speak  with  any  certainty  at 
this  moment  of  these  Prussian  Realgymnasien,  as 
changes  are  constantly  made  in  their  curriculum, 
and  especially  in  those  branches  of  study  which  we 
are  forced  to  consider — for  instance,  Latin. 

If  we  attempt  to  explain  the  special  nature  of 
secondary  classical  education  as  briefly  as  possible, 
one  fact  is  clear — that  these  institutions  owe  their 
special  character  to  the  fact  that  they  are  prepara- 
tory to  the  university.  Their  education  is  a  prepara- 
tion for  science  in  the  truest  and  highest  sense  of  the 
word,  and  science  implies  the  discovery  of  truth, 
reality,  and  certainty  within  the  subject  under 
examination.  Preparation  for  scientific  work  is 
thus  itself  science,  the  search  for  truth,  and  the  pro- 
cess which  the  Greeks  called  <f)i\ocro6eiv  is  common 
both  to  a  first  and  to  a  sixth  form.  Hence  we  shall 
be  able  to  define  the  special  character  of  classical 
school  training  as  education  for  science  by  means  of 
science.  It  is  a  development  of  the  sense  of  truth 
in  the  highest  meaning  of  the  term,  of  the  desire  in 
every  case  to  secure  clarity,  which  is  truth.  To 
this  idea  belongs  the  further  conception  that  the 
student  should  be  accustomed  to  desire  truth  for  its 
own  sake,  la  lumiere  pour  la  lumiere,  and  not  for  the 
sake  of  such  profit  as  individuals,  however  numerous, 


INTRODUCTORY  5 

may  derive  from  his  discoveries.  Part  of  this  task 
is,  therefore,  a  business  extraordinarily  difficult  for 
anybody  ;  it  involves  the  gradual  training  of  the 
pupil  to  recognize  the  meaning  of  knowledge  in  its 
full  and  pure  sense,  and  to  make  him  understand 
that  knowledge  is  not  the  mere  grasp  of  some  facts 
worth  knowing  brought  temporarily  within  the  range 
of  his  ideas.  Here,  at  all  events,  is  a  tangible  and 
material  difference  between  the  classical  and  the 
modern  school.  The  latter  have  obviously  to 
develop  this  sense  of  truth  as  well,  and  have  to 
communicate  knowledge,  but  not  knowledge  in  its 
highest  and  strictest  sense  ;  they  teach  rather  than 
study,  and  their  special  qualities  are  to  be  found  in 
other  directions. 

What,  then,  is  historical  science,  and  what  is 
historical  instruction  ?  What  does  historical  in- 
struction mean  to  boys  of  nine,  twelve,  or  eighteen 
years  of  age  ? 

By  history  we  understand  the  discovery  and 
description  of  the  past,  of  what  has  happened  in  the 
world  through  human  agency.  The  mass  of  these 
accomplished  facts  is  increased  every  day  by 
enormous  additions,  and  is,  therefore,  too  great 
to  grasp  or  measure.  We  have,  accordingly,  to 
select  the  most  important  of  these  events  per- 
formed by  human  agency,  and  the  question  arises, 
What  point  of  view  determines  our  idea  of  im- 
portance ?  We  conceive  of  importance  from  the 
standpoint  of  humanitarianism.  History,  and  there- 
fore historical  teaching  starts  with  the  supposition 


6  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

that  mankind  is  an  ethical  whole,  and  has  its 
Divine  task  appointed  by  God,  to  realize  by  slow- 
decrees  and  gradual  progress  its  conception  of  man- 
kind and  humanity.  This  is  the  true  sense  attaching 
to  the  term  "  world  history,"  which  is  a  history  of 
mankind  considered  as  an  ethical  whole.  If  it  is 
objected  that  a  petitio  principii  lies  beneath  this 
assertion,  we  admit  the  truth  of  the  statement  in  a 
certain  sense  ;  our  supposition  is  a  belief,  and  not 
demonstrable  fact.  If,  however,  it  be  argued  that 
humanity  in  this  sense  does  not  as  yet  exist, 
one  point,  at  least,  is  certain :  so  soon  as  any 
individual  has  conceived  the  idea  "  that  all  men, 
past,  present,  and  future,  form  an  ethical  whole," 
humanity,  in  our  sense  of  the  term,  has  come  into 
existence.  Hence  our  definition  of  that  science 
with  which  the  historical  teacher  will  deal  is  to  the 
effect  that  history  is  the  history  of  humanity  re- 
garded as  an  ethical  whole,  and  even  if  the  history 
teacher's  instruction  is  of  the  most  elemental  kind, 
he  cannot  afford  to  dispense  with  this  definition. 
It  must  be  present  to  his  mind,  and  he  cannot  afford 
to  forget  that  this  idea  of  the  genus  humanum  was 
first  elaborated  upon  Roman  soil,  and  eventually 
found  its  truth,  though  by  no  means  its  realization, 
in  Christianity.  The  teacher  need  not,  however,  in 
accordance  with  the  precepts  of  former  "  methods," 
explain  these  or  any  definitions  of  the  kind  at  the 
outset  of  his  teaching ;  there  will  be  time  enough 
for  that  in  the  sixth  form.  For  only  at  this  point, 
after  the  pupil   has  reached  the  goal   of   his  long 


INTRODUCTORY  7 

career,  is  this  definition  no  longer  a  mere  collocation 
of  words  to  him,  but  becomes  an  idea  and  a  truth 
which  he  has  to  some  extent  experienced. 

When  historical  instruction  is  in  question  the 
saying  of  Goethe  naturally  recurs  to  memory,  to 
the  effect  that  the  best  part  of  history  is  the  en- 
thusiasm which  it  arouses.  This  is  very  true,  and 
such  enthusiasm  is  the  best — not  the  sole — result  of  > 
historical  teaching,  but  it  can  only  be  aroused  in 
connexion  with  the  idea  or  the  conception  that  the 
deeds  which  are  to  inspire  admiration,  the  exploits  I 
of  great  and  pure  heroism,  actiially  came  to  pass 
and  were  performed  by  men  of  like  passions  with  j 
ourselves.  Hence  we  reach  the  supreme  law  which 
must  govern  every  mode  of  historical  presentation, 
and,  therefore,  of  historical  teaching  in  secondary 
schools.  This  instruction  must  deal  only  with  what 
has  actually  happened,  and  it  must  be  added, 
should  represent  it  exactly  as  it  happened,  as  far  as 
it  is  possible  to  achieve  this  object.  There  is  an 
ideal  of  historical  narration  based  upon  an  entirely 
objective  method  which  relates  facts,  describes 
character,  and  retraces  motives  undisturbed  by 
personal  inclinations,  by  political  and  religious 
partisanship,  or  by  any  other  influences  of  the  kind 
which  may  affect  the  historian.  Admirable  as  this 
ideal  may  be,  its  perfect  realization  is  an  impossi- 
bility. The  historian  or  narrator  remains  an  indi- 
vidual, and  his  view  of  history,  together  with  his 
mode  of  presentation,  must  ever  bear  a  strong 
impress  of  his  individuality.     At  this  point,  how- 


8  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

ever,  we  are  confronted  by  a  further  rule,  which  is 
by  no  means  superfluous.  Events  that  certainly 
have  not  happened,  and  have  been  proved  by  serious 
and  honest  investigation  not  to  have  happened,  are 
not  to  be  represented  as  realities  for  the  purpose  of 
producing  some  moral  or  aesthetic  influence  or  other 
effect  of  the  kind.  Among  our  great  historians 
Chr.  Schlosser  has  expressly  refused  to  accept 
the  objective  theory.  Ranke,  again,  says  of  him- 
self with  humble  pride  that  he  will  only  relate 
events  "  as  they  actually  took  place,"  and  has 
become,  paradoxical  as  it  may  sound,  an  extremely 
subjective  historian  by  reason  of  this  very  effort  to 
reach  an  objective  standpoint.*  We  cannot,  there- 
fore, hold  up  either  one  or  the  other  as  a  model  for 
history  teachers  in  secondary  schools. 

The  impossibility  of  writing  history  "  from  the 
purely  objective  standpoint  "  is  not  merely  a 
deficienc}7  or  disadvantage  :  it  produces  also  a 
positive  result.  A  contemporary  historian  is  right — 
or,  at  any  rate,  has  the  right,  whether  he  be  an 
historical  writer  or  teacher — to  treat  history  as  a 

*  We  have  in  mind,  for  instance,  the  historical  introductions 
to  the  narrative  passages  in  the  correspondence  of  Bunsen  and 
Frederick  William  IV.,  edited  by  Ranke ;  these  passages  are 
apparently  written  from  the  objective  standpoint  as  though 
the  author  were  treating  of  the  seventeenth  or  eighteenth 
centuries,  but  are  in  reality  highly  coloured  with  the  writer's 
personality.  Of  German  historians  Ludwig  Hausser  seems  to 
us  to  be  the  best  model  for  the  teacher  ;  not  only  does  he  possess 
a  full  sense  of  historical  justice  and  truth,  but  he  has  at  the  same 
time  feeling  and  character. 


INTRODUCTORY  a 

man  of  his  own  age — that  is,  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  twentieth  century.  He  may  also  treat  it  as  a 
member  of  his  own  nation,  and  many  will  be  inclined 
to  add,  "  as  a  member  of  his  own  Church."  This 
latter  claim  raises  a  practical  question  of  con- 
siderable difficulty  of  which  we  shall  have  to  treat 
in  its  own  place,  for  the  special  reason  that  discus- 
sions upon  the  question,  whether  at  head-masters' 
conferences  or  in  educational  hand-books,  usually 
evade  this  point,  and  speak  as  if  there  had  never  been 
any  difference  between  theories  of  life  or  any  con- 
sequent great  communities,  churches  and  ecclesi- 
astical parties,  which  were  founded  upon  a  basis  of 
these  divergent  views,  have  fought  their  battles, 
and  are  fighting  them  to-day.  A  powerful  indi- 
viduality is  a  source  of  great  power,  and  will  make 
itself  felt,  if  anywhere,  in  historical  teaching  ;  but 
the  teacher,  even  more  than  the  historical  writer, 
must  remember  that  he  is  but  an  individual.  He 
must,  therefore,  be  careful  to  guard  against  the 
delivery  of  judgments  by  means  of  ready-made 
catch-words  or  oracular  pronouncements. 

One  further  point  must  be  mentioned  before  we 
can  enter  upon  the  practical  and  detailed  side  of 
our  subject.  In  the  course  of  historical  instruction 
the  teacher  is  often  obliged  to  consider  the  so-called 
spirit  of  the  age,  though  this  is  often  nothing  more 
than  a  transitory  whim  of  fashion.  At  the  present 
time,  as  every  one  knows,  the  teacher  is  confronted 
by  "  the  consciousness  of  the  age  "  or  "  the  need 
of  the  present,"  or  by  "life,"  often  with  the  loud 


10  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

demand  for  special  consideration  of  all  possible 
economic  and  social  developments.  Nor  is  this  all. 
Every  moment  some  new  movement  imperatively 
demands  "consideration"  or  "special  treatment." 
One  would  imagine  that  the  spirit  of  advertisement 
or  the  eulogies  of  the  auctioneer  had  invaded  our 
special  sphere,  remote  as  it  may  be  from  compe- 
tition and  from  the  haggling  of  the  market-place. 
The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  of  making  high- 
sounding  phrases  there  is  no  end ;  to  stimulate  the 
feeling  of  patriotism,  the  sense  of  responsibility 
to  the  State,  the  religious  sense  and  character  in 
general — these  are  demands  which  the  experienced 
teacher  can  estimate  at  their  proper  value,  knowing, 
as  he  does,  how  humble  a  modicum  of  truth  or 
reality  is  concealed  behind  these  sonorous  phrases. 
Hence  at  the  very  outset  of  our  considerations  we 
venture  to  offer  the  following  advice  to  our  younger 
colleagues  :  In  the  first  place,  decline  to  be  frightened 
by  uproar,  or  to  be  discouraged  by  lofty  phrases. 
In  the  second  place,  continue  to  study  history  your- 
selves :  learn  it  that  you  may  teach  it.  The  methods 
of  historical  study  have  been  already  learnt  at  the 
University,  and  the  teacher  has  shown  in  his  ex- 
amination that  he  has  acquired  this  capacity. 
The  art  of  teaching  history  to  children,  boys,  or 
young  men,  will  be  learnt  by  practical  teaching, 
the  more  certainly  in  proportion  to  the  zeal  and  per- 
severance with  which  the  teacher  devotes  himself 
to  his  special  subject.  One  point,  however,  is  an 
indispensable  condition  in  whatever  stage  of  Ms- 


INTRODUCTORY  1 1 

torical  teaching  the  instructor  may  find  himself  : 
he  must  have  a  general  view  of  the  whole  path  which 
his  pupils  have  travelled,  or  have  still  to  follow. 
This  general  view  is  assumed  by  us  henceforward, 
and  only  so  can  we  expect  that  our  arguments  will 
prove  of  any  use  to  our  colleagues.     Our  German 
secondary  schools  and  the  higher  or  middle  schools 
corresponding  to  them,  admit  their  pupils,  generally 
speaking,  at  the  age  of  nine  or  ten — in  some  cases 
a  little  earlier,  in  others  a  little  later — and  those 
who    pass    through    the    whole    curriculum    leave 
school  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  nineteen,  or  twenty. 
The  secondary  school  and  the  modern  school  with 
its  nine  forms  (Realschule),  has,  therefore,  to  deal 
with  children,  boys,  and  young  men.     Hence  there 
is  one  fundamental  law  imperative  upon  historical 
instruction,  if  upon  any  branch  of  study  :  history 
is  one  thing  to  the  mind  of  a  child  and  of  a  boy, 
another  thing  to  a  youth,  and,  again,  another  thing 
to  the  mind  of  a  mature  or  aged  man.     This  fact 
has  ever  been  recognized,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  see, 
the  curricula  of  all  German  educational  institutions 
contemplate  a  twofold  progress  across  the  centuries. 
We   have   definitely  rejected    those   simple   or  in- 
genious proposals  which  would  divide  the  history 
of  the  world  into  so  many  portions  as  there  are 
classes  in  a  school,  and  assign  a  division  to  each  class 
from  the  fourth  form  to  the  sixth.     In  examining 
the  curricula  of  the  German  secondary  and  modern 
schools,  we  find  a  great  and  general  similarity  which 
materially  facilitates    our   task.     We   shall,  there- 


12  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

fore,  be  justified  in  basing  our  arguments  upon  the 
organization  usual  in  Prussia  and  in  those  provinces 
which  have  adopted  it  directly  from  Prussia.  This 
method  has  been  chosen  not  merely  because  this 
organization  is  best  known  to  the  author  himself,  but 
also  because  the  conclusions  drawn  from  these  data 
are  easily  applicable  to  the  other  schools  of  our 
country.*  In  Prussia  historical  instruction  has  been 
discussed  at  numerous  conferences  of  head  masters, 
both  in  general  and  with  reference  to  important 
details.  The  subject  recurred  some  eleven  times 
before  the  year  1876,  when  the  well-known  syllabus 
of  Erler  appeared.  Discussion  has  been  no  less 
frequent  since  that  date,  and  anyone  who  knows 
the  extraordinary  laboriousness  of  the  methods  by 
which  these  conferences  work  will  not  doubt  their 
fundamental  thoroughness.  It  may,  further,  be 
asked  whether  the  result  has  justified  the  labour 
expended,  f  One  point,  however,  which  seems  to 
us  of  high  importance  has  not  been  sufficiently 
emphasized,  either  at  these  conferences  or  in   the 

*  The  necessary  information  may  be  foimd  in  Banmei.-t  r, 
Einrichtung  und  Verwaltung  des  hoheren  Schuhcesens  in  den 
Rulturliindem  von  Europa  und  Amerika,  vol.  i.,  2  of  the  hand- 
book, p.  99  (Bavaria),  p.  129  (Saxony),  p.  152  ff.  (Wurtemberg), 
p.  119  (Baden),  p.  195  (Hesse),  p.  287  (Austria),  p.  345  ff.  (Hun- 
gary) ;  the  differences  are  not  so  profound  as  materially  to 
modify  our  observations  upon  method  and  teaching  practice. 

t  Beginners  are  rather  to  be  dissuaded  from  a  perusal  of  these 
lectures,  which  treat  the  subject  in  a  hundred  volumes  of  many 
thousand  pages,  and  naturally  repeat  the  same  truths  over  and 
over  again  ;  the  result  is  to  give  the  beginner  an  entirely  false 
idea  of  what  has  been  or  can  be  done  in  this  subject. 


INTRODUCTORY  13 

other  literature  of  the  subject.  There  is  a  general 
impression  that  our  pupils  learn  history  only 
during  the  so-called  history  hours  ;  yet  nothing  is 
more  obvious  than  the  fact  that  historical  informa- 
tion and  impressions  may  be  derived  by  our  pupils 
from  many  other  sources  ;  consequently  there  can 
be  no  fruitful  discussion  of  historical  instruction 
until  we  have  secured  a  clear  view  of  these  tributary 
streams  of  influence,  if  we  may  use  the  term,  and 
their  effect  upon  the  main  stream  of  historical 
teaching.  It  is  not  the  actual  handling  of  this 
subject,  but  rather  its  organization  that  is  in  ques- 
tion. The  historical  teacher  will,  therefore,  find  it 
advisable  to  consider  at  every  stage  the  relationship 
of  other  branches  of  instruction  to  his  own  subject. 

This  will  lead  him  to  a  final  preliminary  question — 
a  question,  however,  which  cuts  deep  into  the  nature 
of  the  subject — At  what  class  should  historical 
instruction  as  such,  in  continuous  and  formal  style, 
begin  ?  We  know  (apart  from  certain  discoverers 
of  the  eleventh  commandment)  at  what  stage,  more 
or  less,  the  study  of  French,  of  Greek,  or  of  English 
should  begin.  Can  we  say  as  much  in  the  case  of 
history  ? 

Tn  most  German  States  the  question  is  answered 
in  practice  as  follows  :  historical  teaching  usually 
begins  in  the  third  school  year — that  is  to  say,  in  the 
Third*  Form — according  to  the  most  usual  termin- 
ology. The  Prussian  syllabus  of  1892  and  of  1901 
follows  the  same  method,  though  for  the  First  and 
*  For  terminology,  see  preliminary  note. 


14  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Third  Forms  history  is  put  down  at  one  hour  a  week 
(p.  45),  subjects  which  are  not  historical  being 
included  under  the  term.  We  must  admit  that 
definition  of  the  beginning  of  continuous  historical 
instruction  proper.  True  historical  teaching — using 
the  word  in  the  sense  above  explained — cannot 
begin  until  some  conception,  however  immature,  has 
been  secured  of  the  difference  between  accomplished 
fact  and  fiction,  until  the  stage  has  been  reached 
when  there  is  recognition  that  poetry,  legend,  and 
narrative  are  not  the  same  as  history.  This  point 
is  neither  automatically  nor  invariably  reached  by 
promotion  from  the  Second  to  the  Third  Forms ; 
but  the  process  is  generally  completed  between  the 
ages  of  eleven  and  twelve  and  in  that  period  of  the 
school  to  which  these  ages  belong.  When  we 
assert  that  "  history  " — that  is,  the  regular  study 
of  the  subject — should  not  begin  before  the  Third 
Form,  we  do  not  imply  that  the  formation  of  an 
historical  sense  is  impossible  at  an  earlier  period. 
We  mark  off  the  two  lowest  Forms — the  First  and 
Second — as  a  preliminary  stage,  in  the  belief  that  we 
shall  thus  secure  a  correct  point  of  view  for  our 
future  considerations.  Hence  our  remarks  apply 
primarily  to  the  secondary  or  Latin  school,  though 
they  are  also  true  of  any  high  school. 


I 

PRELIMINARY    STAGE 

First  and  Second  Forms. 

For  this  stage  of  educational  progress  we  refuse  to 
admit  historical  instruction  proper  ;  at  the  same 
time  the  subjects  of  instruction  are  of  extreme  im- 
portance, as  contributing  to  the  formation  of  the 
historical  sense  and  to  the  realization  of  historical 
truth.  This  process  of  development  in  the  case  of 
secondary  school  boys  is  chiefly  influenced  from 
three  main  sources  :  the  instruction  given  in  Latin, 
German,  and  religion. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  teaching  of  Latin  has 
never  been  regarded  from  this  point  of  view,  and 
yet  the  fact  is  obvious  so  soon  as  it  has  been 
enounced.  The  first  condition  preliminary  to  the 
formation  of  an  historical  sense  is  the  capacity  to 
regard  the  past  as  present.  A  past  national 
history,  the  life,  the  deeds,  the  possessions,  and 
the  modes  of  thought  of  a  vanished  people  are 
transported  into  the  present  in  the  language  of 
that  people  ;  hence  every  foreign  language — 
especially   every   dead   language — produces   a   cor- 

15 


16  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

respondingly    greater    effect    upon    every    human 
mind  and  upon  the  mind  of  every  child. 

These  influences  produce  effects  far  reaching, 
though  not  immediately  obvious  in  tangible  re- 
sult ;  but  appreciation  of  these  effects  has  been 
obscured  by  the  current,  but  somewhat  unin- 
telligible phrase  that  Latin  is  a  mental  gymnastic. 
The  study  of  the  language  of  a  nation  which  is  so 
infinitely  far  from  us,  and  yet  so  infinitely  near  to 
us  as  Latin,  can  obviously  do  much  more,  even  for 
a  boy  of  nine  years  of  age — as,  indeed,  the  current 
phrase  implies ;  and  this,  though  we  confine  the 
deeper  influence  to  the  development  of  a  capacity 
for  gathering  isolated  examples  beneath  the  unity 
of  laws  and  rules.  It  seems  to  us  essentially  im- 
portant to  the  very  nature  of  our  secondary  educa- 
tion that  no  triviality  should  be  imported  into  the 
study  of  this  language  ;  all  must  be  scientific,  even 
for  the  immature  mind  of  the  First-Form  boy,  and 
this  for  the  simple  reason  that  every  Latin  word 
contains  a  wealth  of  historical  life.  This  must  be 
the  method  even  in  the  earliest  stages.  Even  if 
the  phrase  be  nothing  more  recondite  than  mensa 
rotunda  est,  it  should  be  shown  that  the  people  who 
spoke  this  language  two  thousand  years  ago  had 
round  tables,  that  they  had  Sessel  (stools),  sella, 
that  they  had  Kuchen  (cakes),  placenta,  etc.,  that 
its  sons  were  addressed  as  mi  fili.  To  the  attentive 
observer  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  the  greater 
interest  which  the  boy  shows  in  Latin  as  compared 
with   a   modern  language,   when   he   is   capable   of 


PRELIMINARY  STAGE  17 

interest  at  all,  depends  upon  this  fact.  For  the 
adult,  again,  it  is  by  no  means  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence whether  he  regards  a  beautiful  jug  in  the 
nearest  shop,  from  a  famous  factory,  or  a  Roman 
drinking  vessel,  with  some  rude  inscription,  dug  out 
of  the  ground.  Two  thousand  years  ago  the 
drinking  vessel  was  just  as  trivial  as  is  now  the 
beautiful  jug  which  stands  by  the  dozen  in  a  shop 
window  and  is  of  interest  to  us  for  its  aesthetic 
beauty  or  its  technical  perfection  ;  the  drinking 
vessel  has  this  advantage — that  it  has  a  history, 
that  it  speaks  to  us  of  the  past,  and  enables  us  for 
a  moment  to  realize  this  past.  In  the  most  in- 
sensible it  arouses  a  feeling  analogous  to  scientific 
interest — the  interest  of  curiosity,  however  tran- 
sitory ;  and  a  similar  effect  is  produced  by  a  growing 
acquaintance  with  Latin  forms,  words,  and  termina- 
tions, and  thereby  with  Latin  things  and  ideas  in 
the  case  of  the  boy  of  nine  years  old  ;  he  feels  him- 
self a  Latin  scholar  because  he  thinks  that  he  is 
gaining  real  and  pure  knowledge,  and  not  merely 
the  knowledge  of  the  market-place.  To  make 
French  or  English — English  in  the  case  of  the  First 
Form — the  initial  foreign  language  in  a  secondary 
school,  is  to  stifle  the  scientific  sense  at  its  very 
outset.  At  this  point  we  may  be  confronted  by 
one  of  those  zealots  who  would  build  and  concen- 
trate everything  at  once  upon  the  basis  of  what  is 
already  known.  He  may  ask  how  the  teacher  is  to 
bring  out  and  make  operative  the  historical  influence 
contained  in  the  elements  of  Latin.     The  answer  is 

2 


18  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

that  no  special  treatment  is  demanded  of  the 
teacher,  and  that  he  should  merely  allow  this  course 
of  development  quietly  to  proceed.  It  is  quite  open 
to  him,  and  arises  naturally  from  the  subject,  to 
tell  his  boys  something  from  time  to  time  of  the 
great  Roman  nation  whose  language  they  are  learn- 
ing, and  of  whom  they  will  afterwards  learn  much 
more.  We  must  not,  however,  be  misunderstood 
to  wish  the  importation  of  Greek  and  Roman  his- 
torical facts  into  elementary  Latin  exercises — -a 
process  sometimes  known  as  concentration,  appar- 
ently on  the  principle  of  Incus  a  non  lucendo  ;  within 
our  own  field  many  valuable  fruits  grow  quietly, 
without  any  fussing  over  questions  of  method. 

The  second  source  which  contributes  to  the  for- 
mation of  an  historical  sense  is  different  in  nature 
from  the  former,  but  acts  as  a  valuable  supplement 
to  it ;  this  is  the  instruction  given  in  the  German 
language,  which  can  exert  a  fairly  strong  influence. 
The  German  reading-books  of  the  two  lowest  forms, 
while  providing  poems  of  every  kind,  fables,  fairy 
stories,  anecdotes  of  men  and  animals,  descriptions 
of  Nature  and  proverbs,  also  deal,  as  is  well  known, 
with  the  facts  of  history.  In  our  opinion  the  Prus- 
sian syllabuses  of  1882,  1892,  and  1901  were  ill- 
advised  in  announcing  "  German  and  historical 
narratives,  3+1=4  hours,"  thus  making  one  of  these 
hours  a  special  history  lesson.  Naturally  our  profes- 
sion has  been  at  work  here,  and  has  already  produced 
a  whole  library  of  books,  with  a  biography  of  Hercules 
or  Odysseus  on  the  first  page,  and  with  that  of  the 


PRELIMINARY  STAGE  19 

Emperor  William  I.  or  of  the  reigning  Emperor  on 
the  last. 

We  must  enter  a  most  decided  protest  against 
this  literature  and  its  sources,  against  "  history," 
or  special  hours  for  its  study,  in  First  and  Second 
Forms.  Nor  are  these  lessons  as  free  from  reproach 
as  they  appear  in  the  otherwise  admirable  syllabus 
for  the  Saxon  secondary  schools  of  January  28,  1893. 
"Whatever  historical  material  can  be  used  here, 
whether  drawn  from  Greek,  Roman,  German, 
Saxon,  or  Prussian  history,  belongs  to  the  German 
lesson  and  forms  part  of  the  German  reading-book. 
It  is  quite  reasonable  that  boys  of  nine  or  ten,  who 
are  learning  Latin,  and  are  introduced  to  our 
German  national  literature  by  the  simple  method  of 
learning  through  the  reading-book,  should  read  of 
Charles  the  Great,  of  Henry  I.,  of  Frederick  Bar- 
barossa,  of  King  Frederick  William  TIL,  and  the 
Emperor  William  I.,  of  Joseph  II.,  of  Maria  Theresa, 
of  Frederick  II.,  of  the  heroes  of  Germany,  or  their 
own  particular  part  of  Germany,  or  even  of  their  own 
limited  district  or  their  town.  Even  better  is  it  when 
some  gifted  teacher,  though  he  may  possess  no  higher 
certificate,  seizes  the  moment  when  no  governor  nor 
director  is  to  be  found  for  miles  around,  and  tells 
his  first-form  pupils  stories  of  these  men  and  women. 
This,  however,  is  not  historical  teaching,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  pupils  in  this  stage  have  secured 
no  conception  of  chronological  order.  It  would  be 
useless  to  tell  them  that  Frederick  the  Great  reigned 
from  1740  to  1786  and  Charles  the  Great  from  a.d. 

2—2 


20  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

768  to  814.  Moreover,  they  are  unable  to  dis- 
tinguish between  these  prose  narratives  of  historical 
events  and  the  corresponding  poems  which  deal  with 
historical  characters.  They  cannot  understand, 
thank  heaven  !  the  difference  between  a  legend  of 
Charles  the  Great  and  a  history  of  Charles  the  Great, 
and  it  would  be  a  complete  mistake  to  transform 
their  legendary  and  poetical  Roland  into  the 
Hruotland  of  history.  In  a  German  reading-book 
for  the  second  form  we  find  "  Cadmus  (about 
1500  B.C.),"  a  statement  typical  of  the  confusion 
between  legend  and  history. 

The  Prussian  syllabus  of  1892  laid  down  that  its 
"  Character  Sketches  from  the  History  of  the 
Fatherland  "  should  be  chosen  with  reference  to  the 
pupil's  home ;  that,  for  instance,  in  Cologne  the 
subjects  of  instruction  should  be  the  lives  of  Albertus 
Magnus  or  St.  Martin,  or  Reinald  of  Dassel.  We  can 
see  no  adequate  reason  for  this  regulation.  It  seems 
a  matter  of  complete  indifference  in  what  order  these 
narratives  from  the  history  of  our  own  country 
should  be  read  or  explained,  whether  they  should 
begin  from  Cologne  and  end  in  Berlin,  or  follow  any 
other  route.  Each  one  of  them  has  its  own  value 
as  providing  food  for  the  pupil's  mind.  The 
Prussian  syllabus  of  1901,  which  has  quietly  cor- 
rected many  mistakes  in  the  two  preceding 
S3^11abuses,  simply  says  on  p.  47  :  "  The  great  heroic 
figures  of  the  near  and  remoter  past." 

As  regards  the  distribution  of  the  material  between 
the  First  and  Second  Forms,  a  tendency  is  obvious, 


PRELIMINARY  STAGE  21 

springing  from  patriotic  feelings,  to  lay  great  stress 
upon  a  knowledge  of  German  legends  at  the 
earliest  possible  stage.  In  some  syllabuses  I  find 
that  these  legends  include  German  mythology, 
expressly  stated  as  the  ground  to  be  covered  by  the 
First  Form  :  it  would  be  preferable  to  warn  teachers 
off  this  ground.  It  is  not  my  experience  that 
Hildebrant  and  Hadubrant,  Titurel  and  Frimutel, 
Parzival  and  Herzeloyde,  Orilus  and  Schionatu- 
lander,  or  even  Repanse  and  Fierefiz  of  Anjou, 
have  especially  excited  the  imagination  of  our 
first-form  boys.  These  legends  become  important 
to  boys  only  by  an  indirect  method  ;  they  must 
first  have  secured  some  historical  interest  in  their 
nation,  which  can  be  gained  by  some  intimacy  with  | 
such  figures  as  Theoderich,  Etzel,  or  with  chivalry 
in  general.  When  this  has  been  done  it  would  be 
advisable  to  reserve  information  concerning  the 
medieval  legends  of  Germany  for  the  German 
reading-book  in  the  Fourth  Form,  where  these 
stories  are  brought  into  connexion  with  their  special 
and  natural  environment,  and  can  then  produce 
their  due  effect ;  this,  again,  is  the  proper  age  for 
beginning  the  study  of  the  Nibelungenlied.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is,  in  our  opinion,  entirely  reasonable 
and  correct  to  introduce  the  important  personalities 
of  our  national  history  to  these  two  lowest  classes, 
by  means  of  anecdotes,  experiences  in  their  lives, 
and  character  sketches :  at  the  same  time,  the  only 
object  here  should  be  to  produce  an  immediate 
effect.     Order  makes  not    the   smallest   difference. 


22  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

On  Monday  an  instructive  story  of  Bliicher  and 
Moltke  can  be  read  or  told,  and  followed  on  Tuesday 
by  a  similar  story  of  Charles  the  Great ;  pupils  at 
this  stage  have  but  the  most  elementary  concep- 
tions of  chronology,  and  require  nothing  more 
complicated  for  a  time.  The  only  immediate  object 
is  to  enrich  their  imagination  with  attractive  figures 
and  deeds  from  the  history  of  their  own  people,  and 
this  process  can  be  called,  so  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned, the  inculcation  of  patriotism,  if  any  sonorous 
catch-word  be  required. 

The  Second  Form  reading-book  should  also  contain 
pieces  of  the  same  kind,  especially  pieces  of  poetry, 
and  in  particular  a  selection  from  the  finest  legends 
of  classical  antiquity,  as  many  as  possible  from 
Greek  mythology — Prometheus,  Phaethon,  Cadmus, 
Daedalus,  etc.,  and  some  few  legends  from  Roman 
history.  The  earlier  Prussian  syllabuses  are  here  quite 
right  in  saying  that  the  legend  proper  of  classical 
antiquity  should  be  assigned  to  the  reading  of  the 
classical  languages  and  to  the  hours  for  instruction  in 
German ;  to  the  latter,  therefore,  in  the  Form  of  which 
we  are  speaking.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not  wholly 
clear  what  is  meant  by  the  term  legends  "proper  "  ; 
something  else  is  apparently  meant  than  that 
which  appears  in  the  syllabus  of  1901  as  an  entirely 
superfluous  historical  study  out  of  connexion  with 
any  other  ;  "  narratives  from  the  legends  of  classical 
antiquity  from  early  Greek  history  (until  Solon)  and 
from  Roman  history  (until  the  war  with  Pyrrhus)." 
We  need  not,  however,  dispute  further  about  words. 


PRELIMINARY  STAGE  23 

We  are  everywhere  in  favour  of  simplicity,  and  we 
therefore  prefer  four  hours  of  German  to  three  hours 
of   German   and   an   hour   of   history,   though  the 
difference   is   not   material.     It   is   unnecessary   to 
enlarge  upon  the  fact  that  these  legends  can  be  made 
beautiful  and  valuable  in  the  hands,  or  rather  in 
the  mouth,  of  a  teacher  who  has  himself  a  youthful 
feeling  of  sympathy  for  their  poetry.     After  a  lapse 
of  more  than  sixty  years  I  can  myself  recall  the 
deep  impression  made  upon  me  by  the  first  sentences 
in  the  classical  work  of  Gustav  Schwab  :  "  Heaven 
and  earth  were  created  ;  the  sea  rolled  its  waves, 
and  the  fishes  played  therein  ;  the  feathered  fowls 
sang  in  the  air,   and  the  earth  was  covered  with 
moving    animals."     We    are   only   considering   the 
subject  as  it  bears  upon  historical  instruction,  and 
as  it  can  provide  preparation,  or  has  itself  become 
a  preparation  for  this  instruction  which  the  Form 
will  soon  have  to  begin.     Take,  for  instance,  the 
story  of  Cadmus  on  page  87  of  the  most  general, 
though  perhaps  not  the  best  reading-book  for  the 
Second  Form — that  by  Hopf  and  Paulsiek.     After 
the  piece  has  been  read  through  in  sections  and  the 
teacher  has  convinced  himself  that  every  one  has 
understood  it,   he  will  have  it  retold  with   books 
closed.     He  will  then  ask  what  the  boys  have  noticed 
in  the  story,  and  in  a  manner  entirely  natural  and 
unforced,  without  injury  to  the  poetry  of  the  legend, 
and  avoiding  any  elaboration  of  special  points,  the 
Form  will  learn  the  name  Europa,  will  learn  of  the 
Phoenician  nation  and    their   discoveries,  will   hear 


24  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

what  an  oracle  is,  will  learn  the  names  of  some 
Greek  places — Crete,  Delphi,  and  Thebes,  will  learn 
also  the  names  of  some  Greek  gods ;  while  it  is  also 
permissible  to  say  a  word  upon  our  debt  to  the  old 
nation  of  the  Phoenicians.  Instruction  of  this  kind 
comes  into  connexion  with  other  material — for 
instance,  with  such  Latin  words  as  have  been  learnt, 
and  this  we  would  add,  without  any  special  effort 
upon  the  teacher's  part.  All  that  we  ask  of  him, 
in  this  case  and  in  others,  is  to  use  as  far  as  he  can 
the  moral  forces  inherent  in  every  worthy  and 
tangible  object,  especially  if  described  in  noble 
language,  and  above  all  things  not  to  destroy  its 
efficacy  by  attempts  to  do  too  much  at  one  time. 

A  more  powerful  and  immediate  influence,  foster- 
ing and  stimulating  the  early  growth  of  the  historical 
sense,  is  the  religious  instruction  given  at  tins  stage. 
It  may  be  said  at  once  that  instruction  in  the 
Christian  religion,  the  third  of  the  sources  which  we 
have  distinguished  above,  is  from  the  outset  historical 
instruction  of  the  first  and  most  elementary  kind  in 
the  First  and  Second  Forms  of  our  middle  schools. 
This  fact  has  been  recognized  by  the  present 
syllabus  of  1901  in  its  observations  upon  the 
methods  of  history  upon  p.  47,  but  has  not  been 
sufficiently  emphasized.  Religious  instruction  is 
primarily  Bible  history  taken  from  the  Old  Testament 
in  the  First  Form,  and  from  the  New  Testament  in 
the  Second  ;  teaching  upon  the  Catechism,  or  any 
other  instruction  given  in  connexion  with  the 
parish  or  the   church,  does   not   concern  us   here. 


PRELIMINARY  STAGE  25 

There  is  no  question  here  of  substituting  one  con- 
ception for  another,  and  we  need  not  therefore  go 
back  to  Bossuet's  Discours  sur  Vhistoire  universelle, 
or  to  the  Prceparatio  evangelica  of  Eusebius  ;  it  is 
clear  from  the  outset  that  Bible  stories,  or  the  Bible 
story  as  a  whole,  are  properly  preliminary  to  later 
historical  instruction,  and  must  therefore  be  treated 
by  the  methods  of  such  instruction,  if  religion  is  to 
secure  her  rights  and  her  interests,  which  are 
precisely  similar  to  those  of  history.  Religious 
instruction,  especially  in  the  Gospels,  is  primarily 
historical  instruction,  and  this  not  merely  in  the 
more  extraneous  sense  of  the  word  ;  for  instance, 
if  Moses  and  Ins  learning  and  the  wisdom  of  the 
Egyptians  should  be  the  point,  the  boy  of  nine  years 
old  may  very  well  be  told  who  the  Egyptians  were, 
and  in  what  their  "  wisdom  "  consisted  :  may  hear 
something  of  their  hieroglyphics,  their  pyramids, 
their  Lake  Mceris,  etc.  ;  or,  again,  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  Second-Form  boy  may  of  himself  acquire 
some  idea  of  the  great  Roman  Empire  and  its 
provincial  administration.  Nor,  again,  is  it  merely 
in  the  more  serious  and  fruitful  sense  of  the  term  that 
pupils  can  of  their  own  accord  realise  in  their  own 
way  certain  historical  conceptions  which  afterwards 
become  of  great  importance,  such  as  the  patriarchal 
system  of  nomadic  life  and  the  growth  of  the  tribe 
to  the  nation  ;  they  are  confronted  with  anarchical 
conditions,  with  the  irregular  but  effective  power 
of  men  (the  Judges)  who  hold  no  office,  but  guide 
the  destinies  of  a  nation  by  force  of  character  ;  the 


26  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

people  itself  is  described  and  described  inimitably, 
now  enthusiastic,  now  timorous,  blindly  credulous 
or  defiantly  unbelieving,  asking  for  guidance,  and 
again  rejecting  it  with  the  temper  of  a  child 
demanding  miracles  and  signs — the  people  as  it 
is,  as  it  was,  and  as  it  will  be  ;  the  pupils  hear  of 
taxes,  of  anarchy,  of  priesthood,  of  kingship,  and 
of  many  other  things  which  cannot  be  made  entirely 
clear  by  definition,  for  we  may  challenge  any  of  our 
pundits  to  give  us  a  definition  of  the  term  "  nation." 
These  things,  however,  must  become  a  part  of 
experience  before  they  can  be  used,  and  this,  if 
anywhere,  is  possible  in  biblical  history  ;  this  realisa- 
tion will  also  be  entirely  uncritical,  a  point  of  no 
mean  importance,  and  to  the  pupils  what  they  hear 
will  be  unconditional  truth  and  undoubted  reality. 
But  the  fact  must  also  be  emphasized  that  this 
progress  through  the  "  Bible  history  "  is  a  pre- 
liminary stage  to  all  historical  instruction  in  a  yet 
deeper  sense.  We  have  previously  stated  that 
"  history  "  is  primarily  and  from  the  outset  a  con- 
ception of  humanity  as  an  ethical  whole  ;  this  con- 
ception is  presupposed  in  "  Bible  history."  If  we 
wish  to  embark  upon  speculative  inferences  we  shall 
be  forced  to  say  that  the  idea  of  God  is  included  in 
this  conception,  and  that  without  this  idea  humanity 
cannot  be  conceived  as  an  ethical  whole  ;  the  only 
point  of  importance  to  us  here  is  the  fact  that  boys 
of  nine  and  ten  can  only  conceive  of  these  two — 
God  and  man,  divinity  and  humanity,  in  connexion. 
These  complementary  conceptions  are,  however,  not 


PRELIMINARY  STAGE  27 

only  provided  by  the  religious  instruction  in  Bible 
history,    but   they   are   also   presented   in   a   form 
intelligible    to    the    immature    mind ;    hence    they 
become  firmly  rooted,  apart  from  the  fact  that  they 
are  presented  on  the  basis  of  an  authority  of  incom- 
parable  power.     We   have   the   idea   of    a   chosen 
family  believing  in  the  true  God  and  growing  to  a 
tribe,  which,  while  preserving  its  belief,  becomes  a 
people ;  to  the  people  God  gives  the  law  of  its  life 
in  the  promised  land,   and  concludes  a   covenant 
with  it.     We  observe  the  prosperity,  the  decline  and 
fall  of  this  people,  the  narrowness  and  limitation 
of    their  conception    of   a  national   God,   and   the 
gradual  overcoming  of   this   narrowness,   until  the 
history  of  this  people  coincides  with  the  history  of 
the   one  personality  of  Jesus,  and  thus  rises  and 
widens  to  world  history.      Here  we   have  in  the 
most  popular  and   effective  form   conceivable   the 
necessary  hypothesis  upon  which  all  later  histori- 
cal instruction  must  be  based.     Here  lie  concealed 
in  embryo  the  highest  tasks  and  objects  of  history, 
whether  they  be  regarded  as  forming  a  philosophy 
of  history,  or  included  under  some  other  term  ;  all 
later   instruction    and   further  study  must  remain 
conscious  of  its  connection  with  these  fundamental 
points  if  the  study  of  history  is  not  to  be  annihilated 
by   the  bitter  sarcasm  or  despair  of  the  question 
which  Goethe  places  in  the  mouth  of  Faust : 

"  Am  I  perchance  in  thousand  books  to  read 
That  everywhere  mankind  has  toiled  in  vain, 
That  here  and  there  one  has  found  happiness  ?" 


28  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

On  this  point  we  have  no  further  advice  for  the 
teacher  ;  the  more  entirely  he  treats  these  Bible 
stories  as  history — that  is  to  say,  as  accomplished 
fact — the  better  will  he  provide  for  the  rising 
religious  sense  in  his  pupils  ;  the  more  he  treats  this 
instruction  as  religion,  and  the  more  he  devotes  to 
it  his  heart  and  all  the  higher  forces  of  his  soul,  the 
more  will  he  do  for  the  historical  sense  of  his  pupils. 
Historical  criticism,  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  add, 
will  be  entirely  false  here,  where  the  pupil  can  neither 
follow  it  nor  make  it  his  own  by  reflection  ;  what 
is  wanted  is  the  undisturbed  narration  of  this  history, 
laying  due  emphasis  upon  its  religious  content,  for 
the  Bible  stories  contain  deepest  truths,  whatever 
views  may  be  held  of  their  authenticity. 

We  have  made  no  mention  of  geography  as  a 
formative  influence  upon  the  historical  sense  at 
this  stage  ;  in  any  case,  geography  does  not  hold 
that  position  ;  it  stands  in  far  closer  relationship  to 
history  which  is  inconceivable  without  it.  The 
two  studies  are  indivisible,  and  are  divided  only  for 
imperative  practical  reasons,  in  order  that  they 
may  afterwards  join  hands  when  they  have  accom- 
plished their  separate  progress.  Here  in  the  First 
Form  the  first  progress  is  made  through  the  great 
scene  upon  which  the  world's  history  has  been 
played  out,  when  the  use  of  atlases  or  maps  has 
begun.  The  more  simply  and  intelligently  the 
master  is  able  to  acquaint  his  pupils  with  mountains, 
rivers,  seas,  etc.,  the  more  certainly  will  he  be 
paving  the  way  for  the  later  historical  instruction. 


PRELIMINARY  STAGE  29 

There  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  tell  his  pupils 
something  of  Columbus,  Cook,  Franklin,  or  Nansen, 
etc.  We  must,  however,  observe  that  we  are 
entirely  opposed  to  the  regulation  of  the  Prussian 
syllabus  which  lays  down  that  the  First  Form  should 
gain  a  general  acquaintance  with  the  atlas,  and  then 
confines  the  Second  Form  to  the  geography  of 
Germany,  nor  are  we  in  any  way  converted  by  the 
reasons  adduced  for  this  method.  It  is  a  subject 
ot  study  wholly  profitless  at  this  stage.  A  boy  of 
ten  years  brings  no  interest  to  the  geography  of  his 
country,  let  alone  of  his  native  place,  which  is 
neither  of  scientific  character  in  itself,  nor  can 
prepare  him  for  scientific  study  ;  the  study  of 
immediate  environment  only  becomes  interesting 
when  the  mind  has  grown  maturer,  and  has  been 
enriched  with  historical  and  with  other  information. 
For  secondary  schools  the  fundamental  principle  of 
geographical  study  is  certainly  this  :  that  it  should 
begin  with  outlying  regions  and  work  back  to  the 
home  ;  but  should  not  proceed  from  the  school- 
room to  the  village  and  its  duck-pond,  thence  to 
the  province,  thence  to  Germany,  and  so  on,  through 
Europe  and  the  other  continents.  We  shall  recur 
to  this  mode  of  study  when  treating  of  the  Fourth 
Form. 

In  modern  schools  the  conditions  at  this  stage 
differ  little  from  those  that  obtain  in  the  classical 
schools.  Latin  is  certainly  absent,  and  for  this 
there  is  nothing  to  compensate  ;  nor,  indeed,  is  com- 
pensation required,  since  the  pupil  of  the  modern 


30  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

school  does  not  propose  to  specialize  in  history  as 
does  the  pupil  of  the  classical  school  ;  his  object  is 
to  learn  his  bearings  rather  than  to  gain  a  know- 
ledge of  detail.  Meanwhile,  it  must  be  noticed 
that  the  Prussian  syllabus  for  modern  schools 
provides  an  hour  more  for  the  study  of  German 
(German  and  historical  narrative)  than  is  given  to 
the  classical  school:  4+1  instead  of  3+1,  and  in 
the  Second  Form  3+1  instead  of  2+  1.  The  reading- 
book  for  the  First  and  Second  Forms  in  modern 
schools  will  differ  correspondingly,  and  certainly  in 
length,  from  the  reading-book  of  the  classical  school ; 
it  will  therefore,  and  in  our  opinion  it  should,  include 
more  historical  narrative.  We  shall  afterwards  see 
that  the  desire  for  the  positive  and  the  practical 
has  provided  a  good  supply  of  historical  material 
for  memorizing,  has  given  the  instruction  in  the 
modern  school  a  character  somewhat  different  from 
that  which  obtains  in  the  classical  school,  and  has 
possibly  provided  a  certain  advantage  for  this  side 
of  historical  instruction,  which  we  ought  not  to 
under-estimate. 


II 

INTERMEDIATE  STAGE 

From  the  Third  Form  to  the  Lower  Fifth. 

Historical  instruction  proper  can  now  begin  ;  its 
preliminary  conditions  have  been  already  ex- 
pounded ;  these  consist  in  the  appropriation  of  that 
knowledge  and  of  those  conceptions  which  we  have 
already  explained  or  indicated,  and  in  the  inevitable 
influences,  difficult  to  estimate,  which  accompany 
the  appropriation  of  these  conceptions.  We  do 
not  mean  to  assert  that  as  the  clock  strikes  eight 
upon  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  the  pupil 
begins  work  in  the  Third  Form,  he  also  begins  to  be 
capable  of  following  historical  instruction  with  profit. 
There  will  be  many  of  the  pupils  who  have  long 
since  had  access  to  historical  books,  which  may  be 
excellent,  such  as  the  Greek  and  Roman  histories  of 
C  L.  Roth,  or  of  very  doubtful  value  compiled  by 
incompetent  hands.  The  latter  class  of  readers,  the 
cumberers  of  our  ground,  must  be  taken  as  they 
are  ;  everybody  knows  that  at  this  age  much  that 
is  bad  can  be  read  without  serious  loss,  and  we 
hope  that  the  time  is  still  far  distant  when  home 

31 


32  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

reading  will  be  subject  to  the  inspection  of  the  all- 
compelling  scholastic  powers,  and  no  boy  allowed  to 
read  anything  unless  his  tutor,  il  suo  pedante,  as  the 
Italians  say,  is  looking  over  his  shoulder.  The 
point  at  issue  is  that  in  the  Third  Form,  usually  the 
third  year  in  the  classical  school,  that  stage  is 
reached  when  regular  historical  instruction  can 
begin  to  the  extent  of  two  lessons  a  week,  as  a  rule  ; 
when  there  is  an  orderly  progress  commenced 
through  the  last  thirty  centuries  of  human  history, 
in  contrast  to  the  irregular  excursions  which  pupils 
have  hitherto  made  into  this  subject  either  in  the 
school  or  for  their  own  purposes. 

At  this  point  some  preliminary  questions  must  be 
briefly  noticed.  Schools  with  nine  classes  have 
arranged  their  scheme  of  historical  teaching  by  long 
tradition  and  by  a  kind  of  convention,  so  that  the 
course  of  history  is  twice  repeated — once  in  child- 
hood and  again,  with  the  necessary  modifications, 
in  youth.  This  arrangement,  as  we  have  seen, 
originates  immediately  in  the  nature  of  those  schools 
which  keep  their  pupils  from  childhood  until 
youth,  or  even  until  early  manhood.  As  far  as  we 
can  see,  the  syllabuses  of  the  different  states  are  in 
agreement  on  this  point,  and  we  shall  therefore 
decline  to  discuss  any  proposals  which  ignore  this 
necessity  for  duplication,  and  proceed  to  demand  for 
the  Sixth  Form  some  mixture  of  historical  lectures, 
study  of  sources,  and  other  supposed  methods  of 
extending  and  deepening  knowledge.  The  principle 
of  two  readings,  or  even  three,  is  universally  advisable 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  33 

in  legislation  and  in  parliamentary  life,  as  in  the 
private  reading  of  good  books ;  it  is  a  habit  retained 
throughout  life  by  the  sensible  man,  and  in  historical 
instruction  it  is  especially  illuminating  and  profitable. 
In  the  Prussian  schools,  and  in  those  which  have 
adopted  their  new  regulations,  the  first  course  of  in- 
struction proceeds  from  the  Third  Form  to  the  Lower 
Fifth — that  is,  to  the  well-known  turning-point  at 
which  some  strike  off  right  and  left  into  the  forest, 
while  others  pursue  their  way  to  the  leaving  examina- 
tion. These  latter  repeat  the  course  during  their 
three  years  in  the  Upper  Fifth,  Lower  Sixth,  and 
Upper  Sixth. 

The  second  preliminary  problem  is  not  so  much 
a  problem  as  a  whimsicality  characteristic  of  our 
age  and  of  the  position  of  the  secondary  teacher ;  it 
is  raised  by  the  latest  question  :  Should  history  be 
begun  at  its  (relative)  beginning  or  its  (relative) 
end  ?  The  first  man  to  conceive  and  express  the 
bold  idea  that  historical  instruction  should  begin 
at  the  present  moment  or  the  immediate  past  and 
work  backwards  to  primitive  times  was  d'Alembert, 
as  I  learn  from  Mahrenholz.*  In  our  days,  when  we 
are  reforming  everything  on  earth  except  ourselves, 
this  idea  has  also  aroused  some  transitory  attention, 
but  has  disappeared,  leaving  its  mark  only  in  certain 
text-books,  monstrosities  of  historical  teaching.  This 
much  is  known  to  every  one,  as  is  also  the  fact  that 
an  antiquarian  scholar  of  importance  half  adopted 

*  Wandlungen  der  Geschichtsauffassung  und  des  Geschichtsun- 
terricht  (Hamburg,  1891,  p.  71). 

3 


34  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

this  idea,  and  seized  the  opportunity  of  speaking 
with  greater  or  less  profundity  as  an  amateur  upon 
historical  teaching  ;*  he  merely  succeeded  in  proving 
that  anyone  at  the  present,  with  a  little  reputation 
can  write  upon  matters  of  which  he  knows  abso- 
lutely nothing,  and  find  readers,  and  even  pro- 
fessional experts,  to  take  him  seriously,  to  discuss 
his  ideas,  and  thus  to  give  a  certain  importance  to 
mere  amateurism.  We  must  mention  the  fact  at 
this  point  because  the  secondary  teacher  is  a  pioneer, 
if  ever  there  was  one,  and  when  he  is  a  historical 
teacher,  is  a  pioneer  in  a  special  sense  and  fights 
under  very  difficult  conditions,  and  he  therefore 
on  occasion  has,  according  to  the  old  proverb, 
many  masters— at  any  rate,  many  who  exercise 
mastery  over  him.  And  therefore  we  must  not 
omit  to  express  our  conviction  that  at  every  stage  of 
historical  instruction  it  is  of  importance  that  the 
teacher  in  charge  should  acquire  and  preserve  the 
mental  independence  of  the  expert,  and  should 
boldly  maintain  it  when  necessary  against  super- 
ficial amateurism  or  against  clerical  espionage,  by 
no  means  unexampled  at  the  present  time. 

The  same  idea  has  occasionally  occurred  from 
the  eighteenth  century  onwards  in  a  less  grotesque 
form,  namely,  in  the  assertion  that  what  is  termed 
more  modern  or  most  modern  national  history  should 
be  made  preliminary  both  in  elementary  and  advanced 
instruction,  and  should  be  followed  by  the  history  of 
antiquity  ;  while  Karl  Peter  has  for  years  eagerly  con- 

*  Hermann  Grimm  in  the  Deutsche  Rundschau,  1891,  No.  12. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  35 

tended  that  aneient  history  must  be  the  special  care 
of  the  upper  stages  of  the  Sixth  Form.  It  is,  how- 
ever, unnecessary  to  refute  these  opinions,  as  in  every 
case  proper  conceptions  of  historical  teaching  have 
won  their  way  or  have  remained  unopposed. 

We  shall  begin  at  the  beginning.  Historical 
instruction  in  the  Third  Form  is  the  history  of 
antiquity — that  is,  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans — 
with  the  addition  of  such  part  of  the  history  of  the 
ancient  peoples  of  the  East  as  may  seem  necessary. 
Some  authorities  assert  that  a  general  view  of  this 
latter  subject  should  precede  the  study  of  Greek 
history,  speak  of  the  growing  importance  which 
Oriental  history  has  acquired  through  discovery, 
and  perhaps  express  even  in  these  views  the 
momentary  unpopularity  of  Greek  and  Roman 
civilization  as  a  subject  for  study.  The  fact,  how- 
ever, is  undoubted,  that  for  ourselves,  who  are 
Germans  and  Europeans,  Greek  and  Roman  history 
is  of  far  more  importance  than  Egyptian  or 
Assyrian  ;  our  arrangements  have  to  be  made  upon 
a  basis  of  two  lessons  a  week  extending  over  one 
year,  and  in  this  elementary  stage  simple  arrange- 
ment is  essential.  Hence  we  must  be  content  with 
the  history  of  those  two  nations — a  history,  moreover, 
which  stands  in  no  immediate  need  of  antiquarian 
research,  but  is  in  touch  with  the  modern  world  by 
reason  of  unbroken  tradition.  We,  as  Europeans 
and  Germans,  stand  upon  the  same  footing  of 
freedom  as  these  two  nations,  that  mysterious  force 
which    first    became   life    and   reality  upon   Greek 

3—2 


.30  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

soil  ;  we,  in  short,  like  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
are  Western  and  not  Eastern  nations,  and  therefore 
Greek  and  Roman  history  is  not  only  more  interest- 
ing, but  also  more  intelligible,  to  ourselves  and  to 
our  Third-Form  pupils.  Bible  history  will  have 
already  acquainted  our  pupils  with  the  Oriental 
nations,  and  opportunity  arises  here  and  there  for 
providing  some  necessary  information  about  them — 
for  instance,  before  beginning  the  narrative  of  the 
Persian  wars,  when  East  and  West,  the  Persian 
monarch  and  the  world  of  the  Greek  City  States, 
came  into  collision.  At  this  point  a  teacher  is  obliged 
to  say  something  of  the  great  Eastern  monarchs,  of 
their  rise  and  of  the  conditions  of  their  existence. 


Third  Form. 

We  now  reach  the  main  question,  which,  in  accord- 
ance with  prevailing  custom,  is  usually  proposed  in 
some  highly  pretentious  or  euphuistic  form — the 
problem  of  the  "  task  of  historical  instruction  " 
in  the  Third  Form.  We  propose  to  put  the  question 
in  more  concrete  form.  During  the  year  which  is 
devoted  to  this  first  progress  through  ancient 
history  the  master  has  to  deal  with  a  class  of  twenty, 
thirty,  or  forty  boys  for  two  hours  a  week — that  is, 
for  some  eighty  hours  altogether.  What  can  he  do 
and  what  ought  he  to  attain  during  this  period,  and 
what  must  be  the  special  objects  of  his  attention, 
and  how  are  they  conditioned  by  the  nature  of  his 
subject  and  the  character  of  his  pupils  ? 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  37 

We  must  first  consider  the  character  of  this  stage 
and  of  the  instruction  given  within  it  ;  I  hold  that 
in  the  case  of  these  boys  between  eleven  and  thirteen 
years  of  age,  the  teacher's  effort  should  be  directed 
to  the  task  of  securing  greater  unity  and  connexion 
in  their  hitherto  fragmentary  knowledge.  In  the 
Latin  lessons  this  unification  is  beginning  ;  connected 
pieces  are  more  and  more  translated,  and  some  con- 
nected author,  such  as  Cornelius  Nepos,  is  read  and 
forms  a  whole.  In  religious  instruction  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  put  into  their  hands,  or  some  reading-book 
based  thereon  which  contains  complete  books  of  the 
Bible,  or,  at  any  rate,  large  selections  from  them, 
and  here,  again,  unity  is  apparent.  In  their  German 
lessons  a  similar  process  is  going  on  :  the  selections 
in  the  reading-book  are  to  be  grouped  and  arranged 
in  order  to  connect  them  together,  and  the  first 
step  in  the  land  of  reality  is  taken  by  means  of 
essay-writing,  as  the  exercise  is  not  improperly 
named.  Historical  instruction  must  therefore 
appear  as  a  connected  whole,  representing  the 
life  of  two  important  nations  from  their  origin  to 
their  decline,  or  to  their  transition  into  new  forms. 

Before  we  consider  the  nature  of  this  special 
historical  instruction,  with  its  two  hours  a  week,  or 
possibly  three,  in  the  Prussian  modern  schools,  we 
must  also  ask  what  formative  influences  are  pro- 
vided by  the  remaining  studies  in  this  Form,  which 
can  contribute  to  the  development  of  the  historical 
sense  ;  these  we  shall  now  indicate  briefly. 

The  horizon  of  the  pupil  at  the  secondary  school 


38  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

is  now  extended  by  the  introduction  of  a  new 
language — French.*  It  is  by  no  means  a  matter  of 
indifference  that  this  language  has  developed  from 
the  Latin  which  the  pupils  have  already  learnt, 
though  at  this  stage  it  is  obvious  that  nothing  more 
can  be  done  than  to  mention  the  general  fact,  as 
explanation  and  illustration  with  numerous  examples 
are  hardly  possible. 

We  have  already  explained  that  every  word  of 
Latin  instruction  contains  implicit  history,  and  the 
knowledge  of  this  language  is  now  extended  and 
deepened ;  the  formation  of  certain  elementary 
historical  ideas  concerning  state,  king,  compact, 
law,  alliance,  etc.,  quietly  proceeds  with  the  reading 
of  an  ancient  author  within  the  range  of  a  Third 
Form,  such  as  Cornelius  Nepos. 

Religious  instruction  is  also  proceeding,  and  con- 
tinues to  be  historical  instruction,  the  more  so  as 
considerable  excerpts  from  the  Old  Testament  are 
now  read  ;  here  we  have  the  study  of  sources  in 
pure  form,  while  the  instruction  concentrates 
attention  upon  human  life  and  action  from  the  strict 
standpoint  of  moral  and  religious  criticism ;  thus 
the  pupil  gains  a  higher  standard  by  which  he  may 
judge  the  deeds  and  the  men  whom  he  will  meet  in 
his  history  lessons. 

*  This  is  the  natural  line  of  progress  for  a  school  which  is  to 
be  introductory  to  scientific  thought — that  is,  for  the  secondary 
school ;  it  is  also  one  of  the  reasons  which  induce  us  to  oppose 
the  curriculum  of  the  reformed  secondary  school.  To  make 
Latin  the  first  foreign  language  is  to  us  a  question  of  educational 
policy,  and  to  the  secondary  school  is  a  vital  question. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  39 

Further,  the  instruction  in  German  continues  to 
introduce  the  German  national  literature  in  an 
elementary  manner.  To  put  the  matter  more 
simply,  the  boy  learns  to  read  good  German  books 
with  intelligence,  and  thus  improves  and  practises 
the  powers  which  are  necessary  to  understand 
historical  connexion. 

Finally,  what  should  be  obvious  from  the  outset, 
but  rarely  meets  with  due  appreciation,  history 
and  geography  become  close  and  natural  allies. 

The  union  between  these  two  sciences  may 
produce  admirable  results  both  here  and  elsewhere, 
provided  that  either'  science  is  treated  with  due 
regard  to  the  other,  and  at  the  same  time  confined 
within  its  proper  bounds.  History  in  this  elemen- 
tary stage,  and  henceforward  until  the  high  stages 
are  reached,  will  always  provide  a  geographical 
reference  to  the  places  of  which  it  treats  ;  these  will 
always  be  shown  or  found  upon  the  map.  Geography, 
again,  will  provide  some  meaning  for  the  place- 
names  which  occur,  by  reference  to.  their  historical 
importance  whenever  possible.  Clearly,  this  cannot 
be  done  until  the  pupils  have  acquired  some  know- 
ledge of  history ;  the  fact  is  recognized  in  most 
German  schools  by  the  principle  which  states  that 
the  two  geographical  lessons  should  treat  of  the 
geography  of  Europe,  and  the  two  historical  lessons 
should  deal  with  the  two  nations,  the  Greeks  and 
the  Romans,  which  really  gave  the  word  "  Europe  " 
its  meaning  in  the  history  of  civilization. 

The  first  introduction  of  boys  of  eleven  or  twelve 


40  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

years  old  to  the  national  life  of  one  people  can  only 
be  secured  by  dividing  history  into  histories  and  into 
small  sections,  each  of  which  is  presented  as  a  self- 
contained  whole  whenever  possible  ;  the  subject  of 
instruction,  is  therefore  histories  taken  from  Greek 
and  Roman  history  in  chronological  order.  We 
say  histories  and  not  biographies,  important  as 
biographical  study  may  be.  Greek  history  is 
terminated  with  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  Roman  history  with  Augustus  and  the  Battle 
of  Actium  ;  neither  the  Diadochi  nor  the  Roman 
imperial  rule  can  be  made  subjects  of  detailed 
treatment  for  the  Third  Form.  Hence  we  shall 
approve  the  practice  of  the  Prussian  and  of  the 
other  German  syllabuses,  which  make  Solon  in 
Greek  history  and  Pyrrhus  in  Roman  history  the 
starting-points  of  more  detailed  study  ;  in  former 
times  much  useless  toil  was  expended  upon  the 
Pelasgic  period  and  the  age  of  the  Roman  Kings. 
As  we  have  observed,  there  is  no  objection  to  making 
these  same  historical  periods  the  material  of  the 
German  instruction  in  the  lower  Forms  ;  they  must 
also  form  part  of  the  history  studied  by  the  Third 
Form,  and  must  be  presented  shortly  and  summarily, 
thus  leading  up  to  more  detailed  narratives  of  Solon 
and  Pyrrhus. 

Theorists  upon  historical  instruction  have  often 
spoken  of  the  distinction  between  a  purely  didactic 
side  and  an  ethical  side  or  influence,  and  have 
referred  to  the  training  of  the  sympathies  and 
imagination,  to  the  hardening  of  the  will,  to  the 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  41 

stimulus  of  patriotism  and  of  the  religious  sense 
etc.  Ethical  influence  is  inherent  in  the  first  place 
in  the  material  of  instruction,  in  the  second,  place  in 
the  personality  instructing,  and  in  the  third  place, 
as  in  all  other  subjects,  in  the  performance  of  duty. 
Here,  however,  as  in  every  case,  the  object  of  primary 
importance  at  school  is  the  act  of  learning,  and  the 
task  of  securing  that  the  pupils  should  appropriate 
matter  worthy  of  study,  with  all  the  strength  of 
their  will,  their  intellect,  and  their  memory.  Mean- 
while the  master's  task  is  to  present  this  history 
to  his  pupils  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  two 
results  : 

Firstly,  the  most  important  events  with  their  dates 
must  be  engraven  upon  their  memories. 

Secondly,  they  must  be  able  to  make  some  ele- 
mentary use  of  what  they  have  learnt. 

This  object  may  be  secured  by  three  means. 
These  are,  the  text-book,  the  teacher's  commentary 
or  lecture,  and  the  revision  by  the  pupil.  Of  these 
three  we  have  now  to  speak,  not  merely  with  refer- 
ence to  this,  but  witli  reference  to  every  stage  of 
instruction. 

A  text-book  is  essential  at  this  point  as  a  basis  of 
instruction.  A  mere  table  of  dates  and  names  is 
not  sufficient,  for  the  reason  that  the  Form  does  not 
yet  understand  how  to  use  a  table,  no  matter  how  it 
be  constructed  ;  a  text-book  together  with  a  table, 
even  if  it  be  nothing  more  than  a  so-called  canon, 
is  equally  inadvisable,  for  the  reason  that  the 
pupil's  desk  is  already  crowded  with  far  too  many 


42  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

books.  The  text-book  for  a  Third  Form  must  there- 
fore contain  tables — that  is  to  say,  after  every 
section  a  short  list  must  be  given  of  the  most  impor- 
tant facts,  with  their  dates,  to  be  learnt  by  the  pupil ; 
and  at  the  end  of  the  book  these  facts  and  dates 
must  be  printed  together  in  connected  form,  so  that 
the  pupil  can  have  the  whole  result  of  his  year's 
work  before  his  eye.  We  do  not  propose  to  recom- 
mend particularly  any  of  the  countless  text-books 
in  existence. 

Assuming  that  the  teacher  is  able  to  choose  for 
himself,  or  assuming  that  in  his  deliberate  judgment 
the  book  in  use  is  unpractical — as,  for  instance, 
is  the  work  of  Piitz  for  middle  forms  ;  assuming, 
again,  that  his  head  master  is  amenable  to  technical 
arguments  upon  the  subject,  and  has  no  objection 
to  the  inconvenience  of  introducing  a  new  book, 
then  the  teacher  has  to  find  a  text-book  with  the 
following  qualities  :  it  must  be  decently  printed  and 
bound,  qualities  winch  apply  to  every  school-book, 
but  apart  from  this  it  must  divide  the  subject- 
matter  into  reasonable  divisions  ;  it  must  not  be 
too  thick  nor  too  thin — in  other  words,  the  material 
it  contains  must  be  such  as  can  be  properly  ex- 
hausted within  the  given  period  of  eighty  lessons  ; 
thirdly,  it  must  contain  nothing  unhistorical  ;  and, 
fourthly,  it  must  recount,  expound,  and  teach,  but 
not  narrate  its  subject-matter — in  other  words,  it 
must  contain  nothing  that  is  not  history  ;  if  legend 
or  poetry  are  quoted,  their  nature  must  be  stated, 
and  uncertain  events  must  be  introduced  with  the 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  43 

phrase    "  It   is    said."     Thus,    in   the   case   of   the 
history  of  the  Roman  Kings,  it  must  show  that  these 
stories  are  told  to  boys  of  the  twentieth  century 
with  some  detail,  not  because  they  are  more  or  less 
representative   accounts  of   the  seven    Kings,  but 
because  these  stories  were  firmly  believed  some  two 
or  three  thousand  years  ago  to  be  the  early  history 
of  their  famous  town  by  the  Roman  people — men, 
women,    and    children,   by    high    and   low.     This, 
however,  is  not  the  only  point ;  the  narrative  style 
of  many,  if  not  of  the  majority  of  text-books,  shows 
that  their  authors  did  not  understand  what  history 
is.     A  case  in  point  is  the  widely  disseminated  work 
of  Welter,  a  clever  book  in  its  entirely  false  style. 
These  books   either,   like  Welter,   adopt    the    style 
of  a  novel  or  else  of  a  rhetorician  ;   an  excellent 
criticism  uttered,  I  believe,  by  Niebuhr  upon  the 
once  popular  Histoire  Romaine  of  Rollin  said  that 
history  was  there  narrated  as  if  it  had  not  really 
happened.     Here  there  will  soon  be  an  improvement, 
which  has,  indeed,  already  begun  as  far  as  we  can 
see  ;  since  we  have  become  a  nation  in  the  political 
sense  of  the  term,  our  historical  teaching  has  been 
marked  by  something  of  that  e'£  avroiv  to>v  irpa^ixdrwv 
egis,  by  the  "  spirit  which  statecraft  inspires,"  and 
therefore  by  that  political  realism  which    Polybius 
demands  of  the  historian  ;  something,  too,  of  this 
strong   spirit,   of   this    7rpay/jiaTCKT]<;    lo-Topias  Tpoiros, 
may  or  ought  to  form  an  element  in  the  historical 
teaching  of  a  Third  Form. 

This,   however,   is  a  point  difficult  to  estimate, 


44  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

and  in  any  case  incommunicable  ;  another  point 
that  we  have  mentioned,  that  the  text-book  should 
not  be  a  narrative,  but  merely  a  presentation  of 
material,  is  easier  to  criticize  than  to  explain.  In 
reviews  and  elsewhere  we  constantly  meet  the 
foolish  theory  which  demands  that  the  text-book 
should  perform  what  is  really  the  function  of  the 
teacher's  commentary  or  of  the  reading-book. 
Only  recently  I  read  a  criticism  upon  a  popular 
text-book,  which  stated  that  though  a  valuable 
performance  it  could  not  inspire  the  pupil  with 
enthusiasm.  Many  authors  attempt  to  vivify  the 
dryness  of  the  text-book  with  anecdotes,  appeals 
to  feeling,  and  epitheta  omantia,  such  as  "  the  bold 
Pelopidas,"  "  the  honourable  Phocion,"  etc.  This  is 
a  mistaken  point  of  view.  At  the  same  time  a  text- 
book for  the  third  form  need  not  necessarily  be 
wearisome,  any  more  than  are,  for  example,  the 
epitomes  of  Livy.  Macaulay,  in  his  essay  upon 
Goldsmith,  rightly  praises  him  for  his  power  of 
making  the  epitomes  of  his  histories  attractive  : 
"  in  general  nothing  is  less  attractive  than  an 
epitome  ;  but  the  epitomes  of  Goldsmith,  even 
when  most  concise,  are  always  amusing,  and  to  read 
them  is  considered  by  intelligent  children,  not  as  a 
task,  but  as  a  pleasure."  This  should  be  our  ideal ; 
the  text-book  is  not  to  be  conversational  in  the 
vulgar  sense  of  the  term,  but  children  should  be 
attracted  by  it. 

The  tone  and  character  of  the  instruction  is.  how- 
ever, determined  by  the  teacher,  and  follows  from 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  45 

his  grasp  of  the  subject,  his  manner  of  presenting 
it,  and  his  mode  of  narrative  ;  on  these  points  the 
text-book  should  not  prejudge  his  efforts.  In  dis- 
cussions upon  the  teacher's  commentary  or  lecture 
high-flown  language  has  naturally  been  expended  ; 
it  should  be  realistic,  enthusiastic,  convincing, 
extempore  ;  the  teacher  should  call  events  vividly 
before  the  pupil's  eye  ;  every  lesson  should  be  a  work 
of  art,  etc.  A  warning  must  be  uttered  against 
catchwords  everywhere,  but  most  of  all  in  historical 
teaching.  They  either  induce  the  young  teacher  to 
adopt  a  false  rhetorical  style  or  discourage  him, 
and  he  feels  obliged  to  admit  to  himself  that  his 
lecture  does  not  realize  these  sonorous  phrases. 
He  may  calm  his  mind  ;  even  the  heroes  of  these 
proud  demands  do  not  make  practice  correspond 
with  precept ;  what  can  be  attained  and  ought  to  be 
attained  by  a  conscientious  teacher  of  moderate 
gifts  is  as  follows  :  it  is  no  small  achievement,  and 
it  is  adequate. 

A  style  of  lecture-teaching  essentially  informal, 
as  is  natural  and  desirable  at  this  stage  of  instruc- 
tion, can  be  attained  after  some  period  of  learning 
and  practice.  Our  object  at  this  moment  is  not 
to  deal  with  a  large  mass  of  information  in  one 
lesson,  but  merely  to  expound  such  material  as 
the  text-book  provides,  and  provides  in  sections  of 
moderate  length  ;  moreover,  the  teacher  is  perfectly 
well  able,  without  exciting  the  surprise  of  his  pupils, 
to  glance  at  the  text-book  from  time  to  time,  if 
the  thread  of   his  argument    escape  him,  as   may 


46  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

very  well  happen.  But  the  first  condition  for  a 
good  lesson,  and  above  all  for  a  good  history  lesson. 
is  proper  preparation,  and  preparation  must  be  of 
two  kinds  :  it  must  be  devoted  to  the  subject  as  a 
whole,  and  to  the  lesson  in  particular.  For  a  Third- 
Form  history  lesson  the  first  object  is  attained  if 
the  teacher  reads  or  re-reads  a  good  Greek  or  Roman 
history,  though  this  is  a  practice  which  must  be 
continued.  He  should  read  one  history  and  not 
six,  that  he  may  become  acquainted  with  the  whole 
of  the  area  which  he  must  cover  with  his  pupils,  and 
gain  a  living  knowledge  of  it.  If  he  has  time,  and 
time  he  may  gain  by  leaving  for  once  unread  long- 
winded  reports,  replies,  theses,  essays,  etc.,  he  had 
better  read  for  his  general  preparation  one  Greek 
and  one  Roman  original  source — for  instance,  the 
whole  of  Herodotus  and  the  whole  of  Livy — in  order 
that  he  may  secure  the  benefits  of  which  the  latter 
speaks  :  ceterum  et  mihi  vetustas  res  (de)scribenti 
nescio  quo  facto  antiquus  fit  animus.  A  first 
analysis  which  he  will  make  for  his  own  instruction 
should  be  kept,  as  it  may  prove  of  value  at  a  later 
time,  and  will  be  improved  in  the  course  of  teaching  ; 
for  upon  the  whole  it  may  be  said  that  the  mind  is 
never  more  inclined  to  productive  and  creative 
energy  than  when  engaged  in  teaching.  As  regards 
preparation  for  a  particular  lesson,  the  teacher  must 
be  entirely  clear  upon  the  course  which  his  lesson 
is  to  take,  and  must  at  the  same  time  make  himself 
entirely  master  of  that  moderate  amount  of  material 
which  can    be  used    for  one    lesson.      When  thus 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  47 

equipped  he  should,  after  hearing  the  revision  ot 
which  we  will  speak  presently,  have  a  complete 
section  read  aloud  by  one  or  two  boys.  Let  us 
suppose  it  is  the  section  dealing  with  King  Pyrrhus 
and  the  war  with  Tarentum.  He  will  then  retell 
the  story  in  greater  detail  with  all  the  clarity  of 
his  intelligence  and  practical  knowledge,  with  all 
the  vividness  that  his  imagination  and  descriptive 
talent  will  permit,  and  with  all  the  warmth  that  his 
sympathy  and  his  confidence  will  allow.  Above 
all  things,  he  should  strive  to  secure  simple  and  clear 
language,  and  remember  the  good  rule  which  appears 
as  early  as  the  Methodus  tradendi  in  scholis  historiam 
for  the  Germanic  province  of  the  Jesuit  Order 
about  1717  ;  larde  fiat  narratio,  lit  sequi  possint 
discipiili*  The  more  practised  teacher  can  natu- 
rally reverse  the  process  by  first  telling  the  story, 
and  then  making  the  Form  read  the  section  ;  this, 
indeed,  is  the  better  method,  but  considerable 
practice  is  required  to  present  historical  material 
from  the  right  point  of  view  to  boys  at  this  stage, 
and  I  therefore  regard  the  former  method  as  more 
advisable  for  those  beginners  for  whom  these  pages 
are  specially  intended.  The  course  of  events,  when 
necessary  and  possible,  is  explained  by  reference  to 
the  map,  and  the  teacher  must  convince  himself 
that  they  have  been  understood  by  making  the 
Form  repeat  his  narrative  when  the  subject  invites 
this  method  (unusual,  see  below)  ;  for  the  most  part 
he  will  secure  this  end  by  short  questions  and  by 

*  Monumenta  Germanice  pcedagogica ,  XVI.,  p.  107. 


48  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

a  simple  catechism  :  Repeat  the  main  battles  of 
the  Tarentine  War  ;  the  names  of  the  most  impor- 
tant leaders  and  statesmen  ;  the  districts  where  the 
war  was  carried  on,  etc.  At  this  point  a  few  ques- 
tions may  be  introduced,  though  not  too  frequently, 
appealing  to  the  intellect  :  In  what  way  did  the 
Roman  nation  defeat  the  King  who  was  originally 
victorious  ?  Why  did  Hannibal  consider  it  important 
to  reach  the  district  of  the  Po  with  his  army  ? 
Should  a  district,  such  as  Bceotia  or  Thessaly 
appear  in  Roman  history,  he  will  ask  what  the  boys 
know  of  these  districts  in  Greek  history,  and  so 
forth. 

In  this  connexion  we  must  refer  to  the  ethical 
effect  of  teaching,  and  the  extent  to  which  this  can 
be  produced  by  the  teacher's  lecture.  Recipes 
have  already  been  published  for  stimulating 
patriotism  by  emphasizing  the  heroism  of  the  three 
hundred  Spartans  at  Thermopylae  or  of  the 
Athenians  at  Salamis,  and  possibly  in  the  course  of 
time  some  psycho-physiological  method  will  be 
found  of  making  historical  dates  a  stimulus  to 
patriotism  ;  in  the  meanwhile  we  would  utter  an 
emphatic  Avarning  against  this  mode  of  treatment. 
It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  worse  mistake 
when  explaining  a  lesson  than  to  spend  time  in 
preaching  patriotism  or  any  other  noble  quality.* 

*  Excellent  are  the  words  on  this  point  of  the  above-men  - 
tioned  method  for  the  Jesuit  schools  :  "  Doctrinas  morales  e  re 
natas  immisceat  professor,  non  multas  tamen.  .  .  .  Reflexiones 
hse  ad  moralia  brevissimse  sint,  ne  concio  prodeat  loco  historiae." 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  49 

The  beauty  of  great  and  lofty  historical  events,  such 
as  the  attitude  of  the  Roman  senate  after  the  Battle 
of  Cannae,  consists  in  the  fact  that  they  give  their 
own  lesson.  Herodotus  says  nothing  further  on 
Ephialtes,  except  that  '  He  was  the  man  whom  I 
write  down  as  guilty  '  (aWa  tovtov  oXtlov  ypdcpco) 
and  nothing  more  of  Leonidas  than  dvrjp  apiaro? 
ryevo/xevos.  Similarly  Tschudi,  in  his  Chronicon 
Helveticum,  says  of  Arnold  von  Winckelried  : 
'  There  was  a  man  of  Unterwalden  by  name  Arnold 
von  Winckelried,  an  honourable  knight  ;  he  sprang 
forth  from  the  ranks,  and  embraced  with  his  arms 
a  number  of  the  hostile  spears ;  thus  he  sacrificed  his 
life.'  This  is  the  ideal  narrative  style,  especially 
in  historical  narrative  for  Third-Form  boys.  No 
special  stress,  in  the  old  style,  should  be  laid  upon 
the  astonishing  heroism  of  men  like  Regulus  or 
the  prisoners  of  Pyrrhus,  who  were  released  upon 
parole,  kept  their  word,  and  returned  to  captivity. 

At  the  same  time  we  should  wish  to  mention  one 
further  rule  upon  this  subject.  The  teacher  should 
relate  history  as  a  man — not  as  a  schoolmaster — as 
the  patriot  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  he  is,  and  as 
consequently  able  to  appreciate  the  deep  patriotism 
of  such  a  man  as  Aristides  or  Demosthenes  ;  he  need 
not  suppress  his  enthusiasm  if  it  breaks  from  him 
involuntarily  upon  the  relation  of  some  bold  deed, 
but  he  should  not  attempt  to  lash  himself  to 
enthusiasm,  for  this  is  precisely  the  way  not  to  find 
it.  Another  point  may  be  remembered.  It  is  a 
matter  of  experience  that  pupils  at  this  age  prefer 

4 


50  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

history  lessons  to  any  other,  perhaps  together  with 
the  German  lesson.  This  frame  of  mind  which 
meets  the  teacher  half-way  is  a  capital  on  which 
admirable  interest  can  be  secured,  and  its  value 
need  not  be  enhanced  by  any  artificial  methods. 

This  special  characteristic  of  the  history  lesson,  its 
popularity  with  the  boys,  a  popularity  which  is 
unshaken  and  should  remain  so  in  the  case  of  the 
Third  Form,  necessitates  a  further  fact ;  that  home- 
work should  be  given  very  sparingly.  There  should 
be  a  little,  a  very  little,  but  something  should 
always  and  regularly  be  given,  otherwise  the  boy 
will  incline  to  despise  the  subject.  The  Form 
should  simply  be  told  to  read  over  in  their  text- 
book, for  the  next  time,  the  ground  that  has  been 
covered  in  any  one  day.  At  this  stage  it  will  be 
understood  that  no  other  preparation  is  possible 
for  the  history  lesson  except  this  repetition  of  what 
has  been  already  done. 

These  facts  lead  us  to  the  third  factor  in  historical 
instruction — revision.  Home-lessons  obviously  con- 
sist of  revision  directly  from  the  text-book  ;  in  the 
Third  Form  there  is  no  taking  of  notes,  and  on  this 
subject  we  need  not  dwell,  though  dictation  has 
formerly  played  a  part  even  at  this  stage.  Revision 
itself  is  of  two  kinds.  First  there  is  the  repetition 
of  what  has  been  gone  through  in  lesson  A,  which 
occupies  the  first  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  of  lesson 
B  ;  this  is  performed  by  one  or  two  boys  who  are 
called  upon  to  repeat  the  lesson  successively,  or  by 
the  usual  mode  of  question  and  answer  addressed 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  51 

to  any  number  of  boys  ;  either  method  can  be 
adopted  acording  to  the  nature  of  the  lesson  under 
treatment.  The  first  Persian  War,  for  instance, 
can  be  repeated  in  sections  of  moderate  length, 
this  being  a  task  within  the  compass  of  any  average 
Third-Form  boy.  Such  repetition,  however,  of  the 
circumstances  which  led  to  the  legislation  of 
Tiberius  Gracchus  would  scarcely  be  within  the 
compass  of  an  Upper-Fifth  pupil ;  hence,  in  this  case, 
the  master  must  ask  questions  upon  the  most 
important  points,  and  secure  a  repetition  by  means 
of  his  questions  in  the  following  way  :  "We  have 
spoken  of  a  journey  taken  by  Tiberius  about  the 
year  134  B.C.  through  certain  districts  of  Italy  ;  what 
special  facts  did  he  notice  ?  what  conclusions  did 
he  draw  from  them  ?  what  earlier  law  dealt  with  the 
distribution  of  land  to  plebeians  who  had  none  ? 
by  whom  were  the  legislative  proposals  of  Tiberius 
opposed,  and  for  what  reason  V  etc.  The  second 
mode  of  revision  consists  in  the  repetition  of  a 
longer  period  than  has  been  already  gone  through 
by  the  methods  explained  ;  instances  will  be  from 
500  to  431  b.c.  in  Greek  history,  and  from  264  to 
133  b.c.  in  Roman  history.  This  repetition  takes 
place  at  the  conclusion  of  each  period  in  the  text- 
book, so  that  a  pupil  who  works  intelligently  and 
looks  before  him  can  prepare  for  this  coming 
revision  of  the  whole  period.  It  is  probable, 
discounting  the  differences  between  lessons  and 
teachers,  that  a  considerable  number  make  use  of 
this  method. 

4—2 


52  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

At  this  point  we  must  consider  the  second  im- 
portant object  of  historical  teaching — the  power  of 
making  some  elementary  use  of  the  matter  that  has 
been  learnt.  By  this  I  mean  the  capacity  to  repro- 
duce acquired  information  in  another  connexion  than 
that  in  which  it  was  originally  explained;  for  instance, 
a  master  (in  the  higher  stages),  when  the  pupil  has 
finished  the  historical  course,  may  ask  questions  upon 
the  history  of  Sicily  or  Spain,  or  upon  any  other 
general  fact  of  importance  (of  this  method  we  shall 
speak  later),  and  arrange  his  questions  from  this 
point  of  view.  This  is  a  problem  which  naturally 
occurs  at  every  successive  stage  of  instruction.  In 
Prussia  and  elsewhere  a  very  simple  means  has  been 
found  of  discovering  bow  far  this  problem  has  been 
solved,  and  the  object  of  the  pupils  attained,  the 
means  being  the  oral  history  examination  in  the 
school-leaving  certificate.  This  method  is  now  a 
thing  of  the  past ;  here,  as  everywhere,  reform 
has  thrown  the  handle  after  the  helve,  and  the 
practice  has  been  abolished  together  with  its 
misuse.  The  problem,  however,  remains,  and  this 
method  must  be  begun  even  in  the  Third  Form. 
Use  and  application  of  the  material  learnt  must 
then  be  made,  because  such  method  forms  an 
essential  element  in  every  reasonable  scheme  of 
historical  teaching.  As  the  method  is  possible  it 
should  certainly  be  practised ;  in  the  First  and 
Second  Forms  it  is  impossible,  and  for  that  reason 
historical  teaching  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term 
is  equally  an  impossibility  in  those  forms.     Revision 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  53 

of  this  kind,  however,  is  a  severe  test  of  the  teacher's 
capacity.  The  task,  as  such,  is  sufficiently  simple. 
For  instance,  the  period  of  Roman  history  between 
264  and  146  B.C.  may  be  repeated  as  a  biography  of 
Hannibal  or  of  the  elder  Scipio.  These  biographies 
can  be  built  up  by  question  and  answer  from  the 
material  which  the  Third-Form  boy  has  garnered 
through  the  previous  ten  or  twelve  lessons  extending 
over  a  month  or  six  weeks ;  by  learning  some 
twenty-six  dates  he  has  secured  a  chronological 
grasp  of  this  period  immediately  before  the  revision 
of  it,  which  revision,  be  it  observed,  should  not, 
and  does  not,  require  much  more  than  an  hour's 
time  even  by  the  method  proposed.  It  is  obviously 
at  this  point  that  the  biographical  thread  of  con- 
nexion can  be  made  highly  useful ;  it  is,  moreover, 
the  natural  method  to  extract  the  biographies  of 
important  men  from  the  national  history,  as  against 
the  reverse  method  which  subordinates  a  national 
history  to  the  biographies  of  its  leading  men  ;  no 
one  is  acquainted  with  a  town  if  he  has  merely 
observed  the  statues  of  its  greatest  citizens.  There 
are,  however,  many  other  obvious  lines  of  procedure  ; 
for  instance,  towards  the  close  of  the  course  a  con- 
nected history  may  be  demanded  of  some  special 
district  of  Upper  Italy,  Sicily,  Spain,  Bceotia,  or 
Messenia.  It  may  also  be  added  that  from  this  point 
of  view  the  historical  instruction  provides  a  fertile 
source  of  material  for  elementary  German  com- 
position, which  begins  at  this  stage,  as  does  all 
connected  work.    An  average  Third-Form  boy  is  well 


54  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

able  to  cope  with  such  a  task  as  the  production  of  a 
short  history  of  the  district  of  Messenia,  for  which 
purpose  he  may  be  given  numbered  references  to 
his  text-book ;  a  similar  subject  is  the  town  of 
Thebes,  founded  by  Cadmus,  according  to  legend, 
and  destroyed  by  Alexander  the  Great.  It  must, 
however,  be  observed  that  we  are  not  here  proposing 
one  of  the  so-called  minor  elaborations  of  the 
Prussian  syllabus,  the  arrangement  of  which  has 
again  pushed  a  good  idea  into  extravagance  ;  nor, 
again,  are  we  proposing  any  additional  object  for  the 
pursuit  of  the  history  teacher  ;  we  suggest  nothing 
more  than  a  subject  for  an  essay.  It  is  not  our 
object  to  add  to  historical  teaching,  as  such,  any 
additional  tasks  or  extensions,  but  quietly  to  proceed 
along  the  straightforward  path  which  we  have 
indicated. 

The  path,  however,  must  be  traversed  to  its  end. 
This  is  a  duty  as  important  as  it  is  difficult  to  fulfil, 
because  it  is  to  some  extent  dependent  upon  adventi- 
tious circumstances  ;  nevertheless,  the  appointed 
period  must  be  fully  covered  and  thoroughly  ex- 
hausted. University  professors,  as  every  one  knows, 
are,  as  a  whole,  but  little  troubled  by  this  require- 
ment ;  any  general  criticism  on  this  account  will  be 
unjustifiable  in  their  case,  and  if  the  instruction  they 
find  time  to  give  bears  good  fruit  the  shortness  of  the 
period  covered  does  not  matter  ;  secondary  school- 
masters, however,  are  under  different  laws,  and 
cannot  allow  themselves  such  licence  in  this  matter. 
The  history  teacher  must,  therefore,  from  time  to 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  55 

time,  consider  the  speed  of  his  progress  throughout 
the  given  course  and  must  not  delay,  that  he  may 
not  have  to  hurry  towards  the  conclusion.  While 
omitting  nothing  in  the  text-book,  there  is  much  that 
he  can  treat  summarily,  so  that  he  can  eventually 
reach  the  actual  conclusion  of  the  text-book,  and 
leave  upon  the  pupil's  mind  the  impression  of  a  task 
accomplished,  a  result  by  no  means  indifferent  to  any 
who  regard  instruction  as  a  truly  educative  process. 

At  every  stage,  and  not  merely  when  teaching  a 
Third  Form,  this  duty  must  be  seriously  considered, 
if  only  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  is  difficult  to 
perform.  The  inexperienced  teacher  is  easily  left 
behind  from  ignorance  of  the  technical  methods 
advisable  in  this  case  ;  the  more  experienced  teacher 
can  make  the  same  mistake  for  another  reason  ;  the 
richer  his  knowledge  of  the  subject  or  of  special 
departments  of  it,  the  more  will  he  have  to  tell  his 
pupils  of  interest,  and  it  is  hard  to  renounce  these 
opportunities.  In  many  discussions  upon  historical 
teaching  one  would  think  that  theorists  had  forgotten 
that  the  day  on  our  planet  contains  but  twenty-four 
hours,  and  the  year  but  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  days — a  large  number  of  which,  moreover,  are 
Sundays  and  holidays. 

The  difference  between  the  classical  and  the  modern 
school  is  of  comparatively  minor  importance  for 
this  elementary  and  early  instruction  in  ancient 
history.  The  pupils  of  the  modern  school  will 
appreciate  the  world  of  ancient  history  less  readily 
than  the   Third-Form  boy  in  the  classical  school, 


56  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

who  has  already  breathed  some  of  its  atmosphere. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  or  possible  that  the  sympathy  of 
the  modern  school  should  be  stronger  than  it  is. 
Its  pupils  will  not  continue  the  study  of  history  for 
itself,  but  only  require  to  gain  that  general  know- 
ledge of  the  subject  which  is  advisable  and  necessary 
for  anyone  who  wishes  to  converse  with  educated 
men,  both  for  the  merchant  and  for  all  members  of 
the  specially  industrial  classes.  Ancient  history 
need  not  be  presented  to  these  pupils  in  any  different 
form  from  that  in  which  the  classical  pupils  have 
learnt  it.  The  great  struggles  of  the  Oriental  empire 
and  the  Greek  City  States  in  the  Persian  wars,  the 
heroic  struggle  of  the  great  nation  with  the  great 
man  in  the  wars  with  Hannibal,  are  no  less  interest- 
ing or  significant  to  the  Fourth-Form  boy  in  the 
modern  school  than  in  the  classical  school  ;  it  was 
in  every  respect  wise  for  the  new  Prussian  syllabus 
to  make  the  historical  range  for  these  different 
schools  practically  coincident.  A  historian,  how- 
ever, of  university  training,  whose  business  it  is  to 
give  this  instruction  in  a  modern  school,  will  find  a 
special  attraction  in  introducing  the  events,  the 
conditions,  and  the  personalities  of  Greek  and  Roman 
history  to  boys  who  will  never  be  impressed  by  that 
immediate  contact  with  these  peoples  which  alone 
can  be  gained  by  a  knowledge  of  their  languages. 
Hence  this  instruction  requires  no  special  art,  but 
merely  careful  observation  of  the  ideas  which  the 
teacher  proposes  to  present  to  his  pupils. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  57 

Fourth   Form. 

The  periods  assigned  to  this  stage  of  instruction 
are  by  no  means  identical  throughout  Germany  ; 
for  instance,  the  Saxon  syllabus  of  1893  assigns  to 
the  Lower  Fourth  the  outlines  of  German  history  from 
1 648  to  1 87 1 ,  and  to  the  Upper  Fourth  the  first  portion 
of  ancient  history  and  Greek  history  to  the  death  of 
Alexander  the  Great.  The  Prussian  syllabus  of  1901 
prescribes  German  history  to  1740  for  a  course  of 
two  years,  and  this  we  propose  to  make  the  basis  of 
our  present  discussion  ;  it  is  not  only  the  most  recent 
decision,  but  has  been  made  after  deep  consideration 
of  every  problem  involved.  As  our  task  is  primarily 
practical,  we  do  not  propose  to  utter  any  criticism 
of  the  syllabuses  in  force  in  the  different  German 
states  or  elsewhere  ;  in  any  case,  the  essential  part 
of  our  observations  will  apply,  correctly  or  in- 
correctly, to  the  several  Forms  of  the  school,  what- 
ever the  period  of  history  assigned  for  study. 

First  and  foremost  the  teacher  must  gain  a  clear 
idea  of  the  general  character  of  the  Form  with  which 
he  has  to  deal.  Fourth  Forms  are  composed  of 
boys  between  twelve  and  fifteen  years,  and  occasion- 
ally include  backward  members  of  some  sixteen  or 
seventeen  years  of  age  ;  this  is  the  precocious, 
critical,  and  argumentative  age  at  which,  to  mention 
but  one  symptom,  argument  with  the  teacher  often 
occurs  though  it  is  hardly  to  be  taken  seriously. 
This  much  is  certain,  that  at  this  age  strong  authority 
and  discipline  is  imperatively  necessary  as  a  counter- 


58  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

poise.  The  Form  must  respect,  not  only  the  master 
or  the  head  master,  of  the  school,  but  more  than 
these — the  moral  force  which  support  and  dominate 
these  personalities,  as  they  do  the  pupils.  Among 
these  influences  the  sense  of  nationalism  or 
patriotism,  with  possibly  some  small  admixture  of 
what  is  now  known  as  Chauvinism,  is  a  most  effective 
influence,  and  is  in  many  respects  more  strongly 
operative  at  this  age  than  the  influence  of  religious 
instruction  and  religious  practices.  Teaching,  as  a 
whole,  must  be  strongly  stimulative,  and  from  every 
point  of  view  must  be  directed  to  the  task  of  crushing 
or  counter-balancing  the  distraction,  dilettanteism, 
and  obstinacy  which  are  characteristic  of  this 
age. 

Here — and  unfortunately  this  is  not  the  only 
place — the  Prussian  syllabus  of  1892  seems  wholly 
retrograde,  and  the  last  syllabus  of  1901  has  not 
entirely  repaired  these  defects.  The  old  Prussian 
syllabus  of  1856,  as  far  as  it  concerned  the  Fourth 
Forms  in  secondary  schools  and  in  deciding  the  two 
years'  course  for  these  Forms,  was  admirable,  and  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  it  the  best  and  most 
effective  piece  of  educational  organization  with 
which  I  have  met  during  the  sixty  years  of  my 
experience  as  teacher  or  learner.  In  this  syllabus 
everything  was  admirably  co-ordinated  ;  there  was 
a  strict  basis  of  Latin,  ten  lessons  with  the  reading 
of  Csesar,  to  which  the  schoolboy  of  those  days 
came  so  well  prepared  that  he  could  translate  at 
sight  with  but  little  help  ;  there  was  also  an  adequate 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  59 

amount  of  Greek  with  the  reading  of  the  Anabasis. 
Round  this  centre  the  outworks  of  German  history 
and  German  geography  were  arranged  in  a  manner 
complementary  and  mutually  supporting.  The 
pupil  gained  increased  knowledge  of  the  history  of 
his  own  people  ;  the  origin  of  it  was  discovered  at 
the  source  when  he  met  the  vigorous  figure  of 
Ariovistus  in  the  first  book  of  the  Bellum  Gallicum  ; 
the  German  literature  taught  him  so  much  of  our  great 
poets  and  authors  as  to  enable  him  to  see  something 
of  the  great  mountain-tops  by  advancing  to  their  feet. 
The  New  Testament  provided  religious  authority, 
easily  brought  into  connexion  with  a  sense  of 
patriotism,  and  in  any  case  favourable  to  a  deeper 
ethical  conception  of  history.  This  syllabus  formed 
a  central  portion  of  the  path  through  the  secondary 
school,  where  abundant  and  simple  nourishment, 
but  nourishment  by  no  means  monotonous,  is  most 
necessary.  Best  of  all,  these  studies  might  be  made 
fruitful  without  any  sublimated  educational  theory  ; 
nothing  more  was  required  than  such  moderate 
insight  and  devotion  to  duty  as  is  rarely  lacking  in 
our  profession. 

This  organization,  in  our  opinion,  produced 
excellent  results  in  the  generations  of  1864,  1866, 
]  870,  and  later  ;  it  was  based  upon  the  principle  that 
one  subject  should  be  learnt  thoroughly,  and 
acquaintance  be  made  with  many  ;  we  refer  to  the 
serious  and  thorough  linguistic  training  gained  by 
the  study  of  the  two  languages,  Latin  and  Greek, 
which  are  especially  suited  for  the  acquisition  of 


(10  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

such  training.  The  basis  of  this  organization  has, 
however,  been  so  reduced  that  we  can  no  longer 
guarantee  its  success.  The  regulation  which  begins 
Greek  at  a  later  age  is  not  entirely  objectionable  ; 
but  to  Latin  the  time  given  has  been  reduced  to 
seven  hours  instead  of  the  former  ten,  from  the  very 
outset  in  the  First  Form,  and  also  in  the  Third  and 
Fourth.  We  have  attempted  to  discover  some  reason- 
able argument  for  this  change  without  any  success 
whatever.  In  the  syllabus  of  1001  an  hour  has  been 
added  in  either  case,  the  number  now  standing  at 
eight  instead  of  seven  ;  hence  the  existing  syllabus 
in  the  present  secondary  schools  is  considerably 
worse  than  it  was  before  ;  the  previous  ideals  have 
been  retained,  but  the  means  of  reaching  them  have 
been  unduly  reduced.  The  results  will  be  inevitable, 
and  in  our  special  subject — the  teaching  of  history 
in  this  Form — a  further  result  has  become  apparent 
on  one  side :  the  Lower  Fifth  has  been  given  a  period  of 
German  history  instead  of  a  period  of  ancient  history. 
Hence  in  Prussian  middle  schools  three  instead  of 
two  hours  are  now  devoted  to  German  history,  upon 
which  question  we  shall  speak  further  when  we 
discuss  the  Lower  Fifth. 

We  have  now  to  ask  what  historical  influence  is 
exerted  upon  the  Fourth  Form  by  the  other  subjects 
there  studied ;  natural  science  and  mathematics 
may  be  left  out  of  account. 

Turning  first  to  the  classical  school,  a  highly 
important  extension  of  the  historical  horizon  takes 
place  at  this  point  for  the  reason  that  the  Lower 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  61 

Fourth  begins  the  study  of  Greek,  which  exerts  an 
influence  even  from  the  learning  of  the  alphabet. 
This  task  is  in  itself  a  revelation  to  any  untutored 
mind.  The  connexion  of  our  script  with  the  Greek 
is  plain  even  to  a  boy  of  twelve  years  old,  and  if  he 
is  told  whence  the  Greeks  gained  their  alphabet, 
his  attention  is  directed  to  the  great  civilized 
connexion  which  unites  humanity,  and  a  further 
impulse  is  given  to  that  recognition  of  humanity 
as  a  whole  which  is  gradually  to  become  a  living 
truth  for  the  pupil.  The  first  Greek  words  which  he 
learns  will  forthwith  display  an  identity  with 
German  and  Latin,  which  must  lead  to  the  idea  of  a 
near  or  immediate  relationship  between  the  three 
nations  ;  in  short,  a  new  source  of  historical  informa- 
tion is  opened  to  him  even  before  he  begins  the  reading 
of  connected  texts.  In  the  Upper  Fourth  this  reading 
is  confined  to  an  historical  source  of  first-rate  value — 
the  Anabasis  of  Xenophon.  It  is  obvious  that  this 
latter  advantage — to  our  thinking,  very  considerable 
— will  be  diminished  by  the  reduction  of  the  lessons 
from  seven  to  six  in  the  existing  Prussian  syllabus. 
We  are  delighted  to  observe  that  this  dangerous 
precedent  has  not  been  followed  by  the  Saxon 
syllabus  of  1893,  which  seems  to  us  to  point  in  this 
and  other  cases  to  the  more  correct  method,  and 
to  be  less  disturbed  by  educational  heterodoxy.  In 
this  syllabus  the  seven  hours  for  the  Fourth  and 
Fifth  Forms  are  retained. 

In  their  first  year  the  Lower-Fourth  pupils  have 
advanced  so  far  in  Latin  that  they  can  read  Ca?sar's 


62  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Bettum  Gallicum  :  in  Prussia,  however,  the  master 
is  obliged  to  give  somewhat  more  help  than  would 
be,  under  other  circumstances,  advisable.  It  would 
be  superfluous  to  speak  at  greater  length  of  the 
importance  of  this  author  to  historical  teaching, 
and  to  the  historical  education  of  the  pupils,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  many  people  and  many 
teachers  seem  to  confine  the  word  history  to  that 
side  of  historical  instruction  which  concerns  the 
memory  alone.  History  to  them  implies  the  tables 
or  summaries,  or  the  amount  of  so-called  positive 
knowledge  contained  in  histories  of  the  world  in 
twelve,  eighteen,  or  twenty  volumes  ;  they  consider 
that  this  is  the  kind  of  positive  knowledge  that  we 
wish  to  draw  from  the  reading  of  Latin  and  Greek 
texts.  Our  view,  however,  is  very  different.  To 
understand  the  past  in  any  degree  implies  the 
capacity  of  realizing  it  as  a  present  ;  we  insist  that 
any  one  incapable  of  this  effort  is  equally  incapable 
of  relating  the  history  of  any  one  period  or  nation  ; 
hence,  as  regards  our  share  in  secondary  education, 
we  may  also  say  that  pupils  learn  real  history  only 
so  far  as  they  develop  this  capacity  of  using  their 
imaginative  powers  and  realizing  the  past  as  present. 
We  have  already  seen  that  in  the  elementary  stages 
this  process  of  realization  is  confined  to  simple 
language  and  short  sentences ;  as  the  knowledge  of 
the  foreign  language  improves,  the  power  of  realiza- 
tion increases,  and  can  or  should  be  powerfully 
operative  during  the  reading  of  Caesar's  Bella  in 
Gallicum,  provided  that  the  master  has  a  moderate 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  63 

knowledge  of  his  business.  Caesar's  book  is  an  his- 
torical source  of  first-rate  importance,  by  which  we 
mean  that  the  writer  relates  his  own  experiences, 
reproduces  the  past  as  present  in  action  ;  this  task, 
again,  is  performed  by  a  man  of  high  intellect, 
who  was  himself  the  author  and  overseer  of  the 
events  which  he  narrates.  It  is  thus  obvious  that 
when  the  pupil  prepares,  translates,  or  revises  this 
book,  when  he  reads  this  author  thoughtfully,  he 
experiences  the  contents  of  the  book  so  far  as  it  is 
possible  in  any  way  to  experience  the  past.  Only 
thus  will  historical  events  become  living  realities  to 
the  pupil.  Take,  for  instance,  chapters  xxxi.  to 
liv.  of  the  first  book,  the  history  of  the  first  or 
second  great  conflict  between  the  Roman  and  the 
Teutonic  world,  between  Caesar  and  Ariovistus ; 
however  wooden  the  teaching  or  however  stupid 
the  pupil,  some  realization  of  the  important  historical 
position  must  be  secured  ;  the  pupil  cannot  fail  to 
realize  the  special  position  of  Gaul,  a  civilization 
comparatively  advanced  and  menaced  by  two  more 
powerful  but  less  civilized  nationalities,  a  country, 
moreover,  by  no  means  united  ;  then  comes  the 
personality  of  an  interesting  barbarian  chief  :  the 
scene  (Book  I.,  chapter  xxxii.)  played  before 
Ca?sar  by  those  genuine  Gauls  and  genuine  French- 
men, the  Sequani  ;  the  origin  of  the  first  conflict 
between  the  Roman  and  Teutonic  nationalities, 
two  powers  incarnated  in  two  pre-eminent  figures — 
those  of  Caesar  and  Ariovistus — holds  the  imagina- 
tion of  a  boy  of  fourteen  years  ;    then  follow  the 


64  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

negotiations  between  these  leaders,  the  panic  of  an 
excellent  army  caused  by  the  vague  fears  which 
even  the  boldest  spirits  feel  before  an  unknown  foe 
of  infinite  ferocity  ;  the  moral  influence  of  one 
great  man  over  an  army  is  seen,  and  something  is 
learnt  of  the  army  until  we  reach  the  intensely 
interesting  meeting  of  the  two  leaders,  at  which 
point  a  competent  teacher  will  not  hesitate  to  show 
how  the  chapter  is  one  of  the  most  precious  passages 
in  Roman  literature  for  German  readers,  because  it 
is  the  first  long  and  serious  speech  of  a  famous 
Teuton,  who  is,  so  to  speak,  a  German,  bone  of  our 
bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,  while  that  speech  is 
here  reported  with  full  reliability.  Pages  might  be 
filled  'with  explanations  of  the  historical  principles 
contained  within  these  chapters,  and  available  even 
for  the  intellect  of  boyhood.  The  pupil  reads  the 
lives  of  men  and  nations,  and  while  reading  is  not 
merely  a  listener,  but  can  appropriate  views,  con- 
ceptions, and  real  knowledge  by  slowly  grasping 
these  views  as  represented  in  words,  and  piercing 
through  the  veil  of  words  to  the  reality  beneath. 
These  influences  cannot  be  measured  or  precisely 
determined,  but  they  are  immediate,  and  certainly 
belong  to  the  sphere  of  historical  instruction  ;  hence 
the  young  teacher  must  understand  that  here  he 
has  an  opportunity  with  little  trouble,  and  without 
calling  into  play  the  famous  six  interests,  to  produce 
an  extraordinary  result  by  simple  attention  to 
business.  These  results  are  not  likely  to  be  recog- 
nized by  the  newspaper,  by  the  public,  or  even  by 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  65 

educational  authorities, let  alone  the  daily  press  or  the 
party  continually  tinkering  with  reform ;  but,  none 
the  less,  they  stand  written  in  the  Book  of  Life. 

Of  the  rest  of  the  further  Latin  instruction  given 
at  this  stage,  and  in  particular  of  translation  from 
German  into  Latin,  we  shall  say  nothing,  and  shall 
touch  the  matter  with  great  brevity  even  when  we 
deal  with  the  Sixth  Form.  The  leaders  of  modern 
educational  tendencies  in  Germany,  whose  words 
seem  almost  to  bear  an  official  character,  are  appar- 
ently unable  to  appreciate  the  intimate  connexion 
between  the  reading  of  Latin  texts  and  the  attempt 
to  think  in  the  language  of  these  texts  when  such 
thinking  is  not  mere  retranslation  or  paraphrase.  It 
does  not  seem  to  be  understood  that  the  full  benefit 
of  Latin  study,  and  therefore  the  historical  benefit, 
can  only  be  secured  when  both  modes  of  transla- 
tion are  practised  so  that  the  one  supplements  and 
completes  the  other. 

The  greater  part  of  what  we  have  said  is  equally 
true  of  Greek  ;  the  reading  of  the  first  book  of 
Xenophon's  Anabasis  begins,  at  any  rate,  during 
the  second  half-year  in  the  Upper  Fourth.  This  book 
provides  a  highly  effective  and  educational  counter- 
part and  counterpoise  to  the  reading  of  Caesar ;  the 
resulting  advantages  are  naturally  doubled  if  the 
study  of  the  Greek  text  is  treated,  like  that  of  the 
Latin,  with  full  reference  to  the  matter  as  well  as 
to  the  language.  Here  it  must  be  observed  that  the 
simultaneous  study  of  the  two  classical  languages, 
when  the  intellect  and  the  power  of  concentration 

5 


66  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

have  so  developed  as  to  undertake  this  task,  produces 
an  advantage  which  cannot  be  expressed  by  a  simple 
sum  in  addition.  Moreover,  it  is  high  time  to 
appreciate  the  fact  that  Greek  and  Roman  authors 
are  now  read  in  our  schools  from  a  historical  point 
of  view,  and  that  they  therefore  mean  a  great  deal 
more  to  us  than  they  did  to  our  predecessors  of  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  The  method 
of  treatment  which  regards  the  Bellum  Gallicum  or 
the  Anabasis  as  original  sources,  and  as  documents 
interesting  for  their  actuality,  is  by  no  means  as 
yet  universally  employed  ;  classical  scholars  pure 
and  simple  still  show  some  objection  to  the  method, 
in  fear,  I  suppose,  that  grammatical  accuracy  may 
suffer  from  it.  Provided  that  modern  barbarism 
does  not  succeed  in  totally  abolishing  Greek,  it  will 
be  recognized  by  degrees  that  grammatical  accuracy 
is  in  no  way  benefited  merely  because  it  is  allowed 
to  overshadow  historical  content  ;  the  two  sides 
react  upon  and  illuminate  one  another,  and  it  costs 
no  more  time  to  read  these  texts  as  monuments  of 
national  history  than  was  formerly  expended  in 
reading  them  for  their  grammar  and  their  style. 
It  may  also  be  pointed  out  that  such  treatment  of 
texts  is  best  calculated  to  emphasize  a  very  essential 
part  of  historical  life — namely,  the  coexistence  and 
interaction  of  great  and  small,  of  lofty  and  trivial 
events.  Much  can  be  done,  for  instance,  for  a 
Fourth-Form  boy's  historical  knowledge  and  his- 
torical outlook  in  such  a  case  as  the  first  book  of 
the  Anabasis,  chapter  vii.,  section  3.     Cyrus,  the 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  G7 

far-sighted  barbarian  prince  and  the  chief  figure  of 
the  narrative,  is  there  represented  as  reminding  the 
Strategi  and  Lochagi  of  his  mercenary  regiment, 
of  their  Greek  Eleutheria  ;  this  was  a  privilege,  as  he 
clearly  explains,  from  which  he  was  excluded,  and 
which  none  the  less  made  these  Greek  mercenaries 
superior  in  power  to  ten  times  their  number  of  bar- 
barians. Here  we  have  that  same  influence  of 
liberty  which  is  hereafter  to  fortify  also  the  present 
Fourth-Form  boy  ;  at  the  same  time  the  value  of 
this  reading  is  highly  stimulating  to  the  historical 
knowledge  of  even  very  simple  and  elementary 
facts,  such  as  the  daily  life  of  an  army  on  march. 
Here  the  master  is  able  in  every  case  to  arouse  a 
technical  interest  in  a  very  simple  way  which 
directly  furthers  linguistic  interest  ;  he  may,  for 
instance,  ask  the  form  to  collect  the  military  and 
strategical  terms  with  which  they  meet  as  they 
read  the  first  book  of  the  Anabasis,  and  the  same 
process  is  naturally  possible  in  the  reading  of  Caesar. 
No  modern  language  can  supply  any  similar  means 
of  stimulating  the  historical  sense,  and  certainly  not 
French,  which  is  not  studied  for  this  purpose.  In 
the  modern  schools  the  more  numerous  hours 
devoted  to  French  and  its  connexion  with  English 
make  it  possible  to  do  something  for  the  extension 
of  the  historical  outlook  upon  the  lines  by  which 
Latin  and  Greek  influence  the  pupils  of  the  classical 
schools  ;  the  effect,  however,  is  not  great,  nor  does 
the  modern  school  aim  directly  at  this  object. 
Text-books  in  this  language  are  concerned,  as  they 

5—2 


68  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

should  be,  with  modern  or,  at  most,  with  medieval 
life.  At  this  stage  we  shall  expect  to  find  but 
scanty  classical  references  in  the  French  reading- 
book.  Greek  and  Roman  history  in  a  French  dress, 
even  when  handled  not  merely  by  Rollin  or  Chateau- 
briand, but  also  by  Michelet  and  Guizot,  appear 
somewhat  alien  to  the  pupil  of  the  classical  school, 
and  in  many  cases  produce  a  kind  of  unjustifiable 
repugnance  to  French.  The  difference  between  the 
French  and  German  spirit  is  strongly  present  to  the 
pupil's  consciousness  at  this  stage,  and  the  French 
master  is  here  confronted  by  the  additional  obstacle 
of  a  certain  Chauvinism,  when  he  emphasizes  the 
fine  points  of  the  French  language  and  the  French 
spirit.  Further  progress  in  French  certainly  fosters 
the  historical  sense,  though  not  immediately,  by 
extending  the  point  of  outlook,  by  inducing  com- 
parison with  a  foreign  nationalism,  and  by  opposing 
modernity  to  antiquity.  The  educational  value  of 
French  is  not  to  be  under-estimated  when  properly 
taught,  but  the  study  is  certainly  intended  for  some- 
thing better  than  to  enable  the  pupils  to  converse 
about  a  journey  from  Berlin  to  Potsdam,  or  from 
Mayence  to  Cologne,  or  upon  the  bill  of  fare  in  a 
restaurant. 

Of  special  importance  in  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Fourth,  for  the  stimulus  of  the  historical  sense,  is  the 
study  of  German ;  we  refer  particularly  to  the 
German  reading-book,  which  eventually  extends  to 
the  reading  of  dramatic  pieces,  the  dramas  of 
Uhland,    the    pieces    of    Herzog    Ernst,    Korner's 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  69 

Zriny,  Kleist's  Prinz  von  Homburg,  and  also 
Goethe's  Gbtz  von  BerlicJiingen,  the  hard  realism  of 
which  seems  almost  to  have  been  intended  for  the 
benefit  of  this  stage  (the  Upper  Fourth),  and  Schiller's 
Tell,  though  this  latter  seems  hardly  suitable  as  yet. 
We  cannot  agree  with  the  usual  phrase  that  German 
ought  to  form  the  central  point  of  the  whole  educa- 
tional course  ;  we  might  as  well  say  that  the  air 
we  breathe  forms  the  central  point  of  our  life. 
German  is  therefore  much  more  than  the  central 
point  ;  at  present,  however,  we  are  speaking  of 
systematic  lessons,  and  especially  of  the  reading 
lessons.  The  reading-book  leads  the  boy  deep  into 
the  life  of  our  nation,  and  this  seems  to  be  the 
proper  stage  to  begin  the  old  Scandinavian  or 
medieval  German  legendary  poetry  ;  anything,  in 
fact,  may  be  used  which  is  a  special  product  of 
the  imagination,  even  "  Reinecke  Fuchs  "  (Reynard 
the  Fox)  or  "  Eulenspiegel  "  (Owl  Glass).  By  reading 
the  modern  extracts  the  pupil  learns  something 
of  the  lives  of  their  authors,  and  gains  a  nearer 
acquaintance  with  the  great  literary  revival  subse- 
quent to  1748  and  with  its  leading  figures,  Goethe 
and  Schiller.  The  original  Prussian  syllabus  for 
these  Forms,  that  antecedent  to  1882,  1892,  and  1901 
was  a  masterpiece,  and  it  has  remained  compara- 
tively unimpaired  in  this  respect ;  we  mean  that 
German  history  receives  adequate  attention  in  this 
Form,  and  should  react  upon  the  study  of  the  German 
language  and  literature,  an  interaction  which  is  not 
only   advisable  upon   educational   grounds,   but   is 


70  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

almost  automatically  and  naturally  provided,  though 
cases  do  arise  when  the  German  and  the  history 
lessons  are  in  the  hands  of  different  masters.  The 
German  lesson,  more  than  any  other,  depends  upon 
the  master's  individuality,  his  inclinations,  his 
studies,  and  the  range  of  his  reading.  It  is  obvious 
that  his  teaching  may  be  good  or  bad  by  methods 
wholly  different  in  either  case  ;  we  would  not  be  mis- 
understood to  assert  that  a  teacher  who  is  inclined  to 
praise  the  historical  point  of  view  should  be  forced 
to  make  a  direct  connexion  between  German 
literature  and  German  history  ;  for  instance,  if  he 
reads  Charles  the  Great  in  a  history  lesson,  he  need 
not  necessarily  proceed  to  read  with  his  Form  every 
legend  and  poem  in  the  reading-book  which  may 
refer  to  this  hero.  We  entirely  reject  the  view  that 
these  so-called  historical  poems  should  be  imme- 
diately and  systematically  incorporated  in  the  history 
lessons  ;  this  is  anything  but  the  co-ordination  of 
teaching,  and  tends  rather  to  distract  than  to 
concentrate  the  attention ;  nor  is  it  in  any  way 
necessary.  We  consider  that  the  German  literature 
lessons  do  much  to  further  the  historical  sense  by 
introducing  the  pupils  to  fresh  views  of  human  life 
conceived  from  different  points  of  viewr ;  these 
lessons  introduce  the  pupils  to  German  legends,  to 
the  best  German  prose,  to  the  noblest  of  German 
poetry,  and  thus  provide  him  with  some  idea  of  our 
national  importance  in  the  development  of  humanity. 
The  connecting-links  are  made  automatically  by 
instruction    in    German    history,    and    a    sense    of 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  71 

nationalism  is  thereby  stimulated.  Neither  in 
literary  nor  in  history  lessons  do  we  require  any 
party -pleading  ;  the  master  should  be  himself  so 
patriotic,  and  inspired  by  so  true  a  love  of  his  country, 
as  to  be  unconscious  of  the  fact ;  in  that  case  the 
pupils  will  be  most  likely  to  catch  something  of  his 
spirit,  and  a  stage  will  possibly  be  reached  when  it 
is  not  necessary  to  accompany  every  word  with  the 
adjective  "national." 

Religious  instruction  exerts  an  influence  upon  the 
fundamental  historical  conceptions  very  analogous 
to  that  of  the  literature  lessons.  The  connexion 
between  divinity  and  history  as  subjects  of  teaching 
has  been  already  indicated  in  discussing  the  earlier 
stages ;  for  the  Upper  and  Lower  Fourth  we  should 
prefer  to  confine  ourselves  to  the  reading  of  the 
New  Testament,  in  opposition  to  the  Prussian 
syllabuses  of  1892,  and  1901  and  to  some  others  which 
do  not  seem  to  consider  sufficiently  the  psychological 
conditions  which  govern  the  work  of  the  different 
Forms.  At  this  stage  we  should  take  as  our  texts 
the  New  Testament  and  some  of  the  Psalms, 
or  use  a  suitable  series  of  extracts  from  the  Bible, 
like  the  so-called  school  Bible  of  Bremen.  The  first 
year  would  be  devoted  to  the  life  of  Jesus  as  given 
in  the  synoptic  Gospels,  and  the  second  year  to  the 
growth  of  the  Christian  community — that  is,  of  the 
apostolic  age.  The  conditions  are  the  same  as 
those  which  apply  to  the  First  and  Second  Forms ; 
in  proportion  as  the  instruction  satisfies  religious 
interests  and  requirements,  so  will  it  improve  the 


72  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

historical  sense  of  the  pupil,  and  enable  him  to  take 
a  deeper  and  more  serious  view  of  human  life  as 
a  whole  ;  in  proportion  as  the  master  emphasizes 
the  historical,  actual,  and  vivid  side  of  his  divinity 
lessons,  so  will  he  stimulate  the  development  of  the 
religious  sense.  The  conception  of  humanity  as  a 
whole  is  a  religious  idea,  as  we  have  said,  a  belief 
that  necessarily  presupposes  the  existence  of  God. 
This  belief  must  be  reality  to  anyone  who  washes  to 
learn  how  to  study  history,  and  during  the  two  years 
that  are  spent  in  the  Fourth  Form  much  can  be  done 
toward  the  attainment  of  this  object. 

We  now  turn  from  side  influences  to  the  main 
stream — to  historical  instruction  as  such.  Here  we 
have  to  consider  history  and  geography  in  connexion. 
Such  is  the  method  of  the  Prussian  syllabus,  an 
example  generally  followed  elsewhere,  at  any  rate 
as  regards  the  general  scheme  of  studies  printed  at 
the  beginning  of  the  syllabuses.  It  must  be  said  that 
the  Prussian  syllabus  carefully  avoids  the  usual  line 
of  connexion  in  this  general  scheme  in  order  to  spare 
the  feelings  of  geographers,  so  that  geography 
retains  an  apparent  independence.  The  fact  is 
undoubted  that  if  German  history  is  appointed  for 
the  Fourth  Form,  and  the  geography  of  Europe  apart 
from  Germany  for  the  Third  Form,  then  the  only 
possible  geography  for  the  Fourth  is  that  of  Germany. 
We  do  not  quite  understand  the  regulations  of  the 
Prussian  syllabus  of  1892  with  reference  to  what  is 
known  as  physical  geography.  This  syllabus  pro- 
vided for  the  Lower  Fourth  "  revision  of  the  political 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  73 

geography  of  German y,"  and  for  the  Upper  Fourth 
"  revision  of  the  physical  geography  of  Germany  ;  " 
here  there  seems  to  be  a  mistake  or  a  misprint.  It 
is  obvious  that  the  reverse  order  is  the  more  natural ; 
political  geography  can  be  the  more  advantageously 
revised  the  better  the  pupil  knows  the  history  of  a 
country,  and  should,  for  similar  reasons,  be  preceded 
by  the  physical  geography  of  a  country.  This,  there- 
fore, must  be  assigned  to  the  Lower  Fourth.  Of 
"  revision  "  there  will  not  be  much,  for,  as  we  have 
observed,  comparatively  little  is  learnt  and  less 
retained  in  the  Second  Form  ;  hence  the  study  must 
be  begun  practically  from  the  outset.  The  Prussian 
syllabus  also  added  :  for  the  Lower  Fourth  the 
physical  and  political  geography  of  the  non- 
European  continents,  with  the  exception  of  the 
German  colonies  ;  for  the  Upper  Fourth  the  physical 
geography  of  the  German  colonies.  Thus  the  main 
subject  of  study  is  that  of  the  continents  and  German 
colonies  outside  of  Europe.  This  latter  point,  the 
study  of  the  colonies,  may  be  accomplished  by  a 
Fourth-Form  boy  in  two  or  three  lessons,  and  we  are 
therefore  unable  to  understand  why  it  should  be 
made  the  main  subject  for  the  Upper  Fourth  and  put 
down  as  an  appendix  to  the  physical  geography  of 
Germany.  The  whole  regulation  is  unintelligible, 
and  must  be  altered  if  confusion  is  to  be  avoided  ; 
we  are  fully  convinced  that  these  alterations  will  be 
automatic,  and  that  the  physical  and  political 
geography  of  the  German  Empire  will  be  the  subject 
for  the  two  years'  course  of  the  Fourth  Form.    This 


74  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

subject  will  necessarily  imply  a  discussion  of  the 
German  colonies,  which  is  not  likely  to  be  of  much 
value  without  a  revision  of  the  physical  and  political 
geography  of  the  non-European  continents,  with 
which  the  pupil  first  became  acquainted  in  the  First 
and  Second  Forms.  The  syllabus  of  1901  has  thus 
materially  modified  these  regulations.  The  subject 
for  the  Lower  Fourth  there  appears  as  "  geography 
of  the  non-European  continents  —  the  German 
colonies,"  while  the  subject  for  the  Upper  Fourth  is 
"  revision  and  completion  of  the  geography  of  the 
German  Empire."  We  prefer  to  reverse  this  order, 
and  to  give  the  geograplry  of  the  German  Empire 
eighteen  months  of  the  two  years  at  our  disposal, 
leaving  the  geography  of  the  other  continents  for 
the  last  six  months  in  the  Upper  Fourth.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  point  out  how  closely  history  and 
geography  are  connected  at  this  stage,  but  the  con- 
nexion can  be  made  too  close.  The  best  theoretical 
arrangement,  and  one  that  has  been  introduced  by 
competent  teachers,  would  be  the  following  : 

First  Year. — Introduction  (for  the  whole  of  the 
three  lessons)  ;  physical  geography  of  Germany  and 
German  history  until  164S  (also  for  the  three 
lessons). 

Second  Year. — Introductory  ;  history  of  Branden- 
burg-Prussia until  1648  ;  German  history  to  1871, 
concluding  with  the  political  geography  of  Germany 
(throughout  the  three  lessons  a  week). 

This  would  be  our  arrangement  if  we  were  dealing 
with  the  study  of  our  own  country  with  four  hours 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  75 

a  week  at  our  disposal  in  a  university  course  ;  but 
it  is  not  an  arrangement  to  be  recommended  for 
schools.  Here  we  have  to  distinguish  an  arrange- 
ment based  upon  three  lessons  a  week,  or  two  lessons 
out  of  four  in  modern  schools,  as  two  lessons  are 
there  devoted  to  continuous  and  connected  geo- 
graphical instruction  ;  generally  speaking,  in  our 
arrangement  the  Lower  Fourth  will  deal  with  physical 
and  the  Upper  Fourth  with  political  geography.  For 
pure  historical  teaching  two  lessons  a  week  then 
remain  throughout  the  two  years. 

Before  the  year  1892  these  two  years  were  arranged 
as  follows  in  Prussia  :  The  Lower  Fourth  studied 
medieval  history  from  about  a.d.  476  to  1517,  and 
modern  history  from  1 517  to  1648  ;  the  Upper  Fourth 
studied  the  outlines  of  the  history  of  Brandenburg- 
Prussia  until  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  in  1648,  and 
then  the  history  of  the  last  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  in  greater  detail.  Where  this  arrangement  is 
in  force,  and  German  history  is  confined  to  a  two 
years'  course  in  the  middle  stages,  medieval  history 
must  be  greatly  condensed.  We  would,  however, 
expressly  insist  that  the  history  of  Brandenburg- 
Prussia  until  1648  should  be  treated  in  Saxon, 
Bavarian,  and  Wurtemberg  schools  precisely  as  it 
is  in  Prussian  schools  ;  it  may  be  added  that  this 
view  was  unanimously  approved  at  the  Berlin  con- 
ference of  1873.  The  syllabus  of  1S92,  however,  in 
Prussia  abolished  ancient  history  for  the  Lower  Fifth, 
and  devoted  this  year  to  German  history,  so  that  by 
the  syllabus  of  1901  the  arrangement  is  as  follows : 


70  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

First  Year  (Lower  Fourth). — German  history  to 
1517  (medieval). 

Second  Year  (Upper  Fourth). —From  1517  to  1740. 

Third  Year  (Lower  Fifth).— From  1740  to  1871  (or 
1888). 

We  shall  make  this  arrangement  our  basis,  but 
our  remarks  will  apply  particularly  to  the  Lower 
Fifth. 

It  is  an  arrangement  which  enables  us  to  work 
through  a  comparatively  detailed  account  of  early 
and  medieval  German  history  with  the  Lower  Fourth. 
At  the  same  time  the  teacher  must  make  his 
arrangements  beforehand,  and  decide  which  portions 
he  will  treat  in  full  detail,  and  in  which  he  will 
confine  himself  to  the  most  essential  facts.  Here, 
again,  we  have  to  distinguish  between  the  parts 
played  by  the  text-book,  by  the  teacher's  lecture, 
and  by  revision. 

As  regards  the  text-book,  our  previous  remarks 
are  again  applicable.  It  must  be  in  simple  language, 
and  deal  with  actual  facts  in  a  business-like  manner  ; 
at  the  same  time  it  must  not  be  dry,  and  least  of  all 
wearisome.  Very  many  of  our  text-books  strike 
an  unfortunate  middle  course  between  the  chronicle 
and  the  reading-book  style  of  narrative,  which  is 
diversified  by  occasional  lapses  into  patriotic  or 
moral  reflections  ;  their  sole  object  is  to  subserve  the 
task  of  revision  and  of  imprinting  facts  upon  the 
memory ;  the  text-book  should  help  the  student 
during  the  lesson,  and  should  be  gradually  worked 
through  at  home  in  constant  connexion  with  Form 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  77 

teaching.  Above  all  things  it  must  give  accurate 
dates  and  plenty  of  them.  At  this  stage  it  is  of 
high  importance,  and  is,  in  our  experience,  a  task 
constantly  neglected,  to  stimulate  the  chronological 
sense,  and  to  induce  the  habit  of  regarding  dates 
as  something  more  than  mere  figures.  For  this 
purpose  the  text-book  must  provide  all  material, 
and  at  this  stage,  again,  chronological  tables  in 
addition  to  the  text-book  are  to  be  rejected. 
Superfluous  also  is  a  historical  school  atlas,  though 
good  and  cheap  books  of  the  kind  are  to  be  had  (for 
instance,  Putzger).  In  any  case  we  do  not  regard 
such  atlases  as  particularly  useful  during  secondary 
school  instruction.  For  the  first  year  in  the  Fourth 
all  that  is  required  is  a  good  wall-map  of  Europe  ; 
a  physical  map  marking  the  most  important  names 
is  quite  adequate.  The  pupil  requires  nothing  more 
for  the  illustration  of  the  master's  narrative  com- 
mentary. Meanwhile  the  question  arises  whether 
at  this  stage  the  pupil  could  or  should  learn  to  use 
his  imagination  for  translating  the  map  of  modern 
Germany,  which  he  has  in  his  school  atlas,  into  the 
map  of  Germany  as  it  was  in  1815  or  in  1740  ;  it 
must  be  observed,  and  is  constantly  forgotten,  that 
he  does  not  yet  possess  this  power,  which  ought  to  be 
acquired  by  degrees.  We  have  every  respect  for  the 
objective  method,  but  it  is  possible  to  have  too  much 
of  a  good  thing,  and  on  this  subject  we  shall  speak 
further.  The  use  of  the  text-book  will  not  differ 
materially  from  that  which  obtains  with  the  Third 
Form.    A  section  of  the  text-book  will  be  read  aloud 


78  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

at  this  stage  by  one  pupil  alone ;  one  such  reading 
will  be  sufficient.  The  master  then  goes  through  the 
narrative  with  all  the  stimulating  detail  that  his 
dexterity  and  knowledge  of  the  subject  will  allow 
him  to  introduce.  The  section  or  sections  that  have 
been  thus  worked  through  in  form  will  then  be  read 
by  the  pupil  at  home.  He  will  learn  the  facts  so 
that  he  can  repeat  them  when  questioned  by  the 
master  in  the  following  lesson.  At  this  stage  the 
use  of  note-books  is  not  advisable.  The  text-book 
for  the  Fourth  Form  will  naturally  be  somewhat  more 
elaborate  than  that  for  the  Third.  In  the  case  of 
the  Third-Form  book  every  period  is  divided  into 
individual  and  self-contained  stories  ;  in  the  Fourth' 
Form  the  text-book  is  divided  into  sections  in  accord- 
ance with  the  facts,  for  the  reason  that  here  the  first 
principles  of  arrangement  begin  to  dawn  upon  the 
pupil.  It  must  also  be  noticed  that  at  this  stage 
the  teacher  may  handle  the  text-book  with  greater 
freedom  ;  it  is  not  necessary  that  every  section 
should  be  read  aloud  before  he  discusses  it  in  detail, 
though  we  considered  that  this  method  was  generally 
advisable  for  the  Third  Form.  He  may  begin  with 
his  narrative  lecture,  and  attempt  to  realize  the 
lofty  phrase  which  would  have  him  present  every 
event  and  character  before  the  pupil's  very  eyes  ; 
then  the  section  in  the  text-book  may  be  read  aloud 
as  a  summary  of  what  has  been  said,  after  winch  he 
may  proceed  by  the  same  method.  It  is  the  master 
and  his  commentary  which  decide  the  character 
of   a   lesson,    and   not    the    text-book.     The    text- 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  79 

book  is  not  on  that  account  superfluous,  and 
should  not  be  reduced  to  a  secondary  position, 
but  at  the  same  time  must  play  its  own  part  and 
no  other. 

Every  possible  talent  may  easily  be  demanded 
for  the  master  who  gives  a  historical  lecture  to  the 
Fourth  Form ;  this  lecture  or  commentary  is,  in  its 
own  way,  even  more  difficult  than  university 
lecturing.  One  virtue,  however,  of  all  others  it 
must  have,  a  virtue  that  is  common  to  university  or 
any  other  kind  of  historical  lecturing,  and  this  is  a 
stern  respect  for  truth.  The  Alpha  and  Omega  of 
historical  teaching  is  that  facts  should  be  explained, 
not  only  because  they  have  happened,  but  also  as 
they  have  happened.  With  this  Form  we  are 
working  upon  the  history  of  our  own  nation  ;  our 
country  is  the  object  of  study,  and  many  teachers 
accordingly  think  that  a  pathetic  tone  is  demanded. 
"  Rejoice,  German  youths,  with  a  thankful  heart 
for  thy  dear  fatherland  !  For  to  thee  has  been 
granted  what  long  was  the  warm  and  pious  wish 
of  thy  fathers — the  German  Empire  of  unity  and 
yet  of  inward  diversity  and  of  power  beyond  its 
frontiers,  the  abiding-place  of  peace  and  moraHty  for 
the  peoples  of  the  earth  !"  Such  is  the  opening 
sentence  of  an  Historical  Text-book  and  Reading-book 
from  the  Age  of  Charles  the  Great  to  the  Present 
Time.  Class-room  explanation  of  this  kind  is  indeed 
magnificent,  but  we  doubt  whether  it  produces 
much  patriotism  ;  this  result  is  less  likely  for  the 
reason  that   "  thy  fathers  "  by  no  means  so  uni- 


80  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

versally  cherished  this  warm  desire  ;  indeed,  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  them  raised  the  most  violent 
opposition  to  this  course  of  development.  Even  if 
patriotism  could  be  thus  inspired  we  should  be 
sorry  to  rely  upon  any  so  produced.  The  master 
who  really  feels  the  seriousness  of  so  great  a  national 
life  as  ours  will  doubtless  in  his  heart  be  delighted 
that  he  can  play  a  modest  but  important  part  in 
this  great  work.  He  will  emphasize  with  readiness 
and  preference  the  fine,  the  great,  and  the  capable 
elements  of  our  national  history,  but  he  will  not 
venture  to  be  silent  upon  stories  of  oppression, 
duplicity,  and  barbarity,  were  they  ten  times  more 
German  than  they  are.  For  instance,  under  the 
influence  of  Burschenschaft  Teutonism  historians 
delighted  to  represent  our  forefathers  as  the  quin- 
tessence of  uprightness  and  excellence.  The  state- 
ment is  unpatriotic  because  it  is  not  true.  It  is 
permissible  to  praise  the  primitive  Teutons,  and  to 
grant  them  all  that  Tacitus,  who  idealized  them, 
has  said  by  way  of  contrast  to  the  vices  of  a  decadent 
civilization.  At  the  same  time  even  the  Fourth-Form 
boy  must  be  informed  that,  like  other  barbarians, 
they  had  some  of  the  vices  of  barbarism.  There 
was  the  revengeful  cruelty  of  which  Tacitus  speaks 
(Annals,  i.  61)  in  describing  the  discoveries  on  the 
battle-field  where  Varus  was  defeated  ;  they  had 
also  the  same  lack  of  straightforwardness  as  is 
related  by  Velleius  Paterculus  (ii.  118)  in  reference 
to  the  disaster  of  Varus  :  At  illi,  quod  nisi  expert  us 
(as  he  himself  was)   vix  credat,  in  summa  feritate 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  81 

versutissimi  natumque  mendacio  genus,  simulantes 
ficlas  litium  series  et  nunc  provocantes  alter  alterum 
injuria,  nunc  agentes  gratias,  quod  ea  Romana  justitia 
finiret  jeritasque  sua  novitate  incognita;  discipline 
mitesceret  et  solita  armis  discerni  jure  terminarentur , 
in  summam  socordiam  perduxere  Quintilium.  This 
mode  of  procedure  is  often  represented  as  highly 
praiseworthy  strategy  in  the  fine  colouring  of 
patriotism,  even  as  many  text -books  have  found  it 
possible  to  assure  our  youths  that  Frederick  the 
Great  was  really  a  sound  Christian.  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  is  quite  true  that  our  nation  is  free  from 
national  pride,  but  I  do  know  that  a  healthy  nation 
or  an  intelligent  man  must  be  able  to  endure  the 
truth.  One  method,  and  perhaps  the  most  effective, 
of  telling  a  nation  the  truth  is  that  instruction  in 
national  history  which  the  master  gives  to  youth  in 
Forms  under  his  care. 

We  must  now  recognize  the  further  advantage 
that  for  this  Form,  the  Lower  Fourth,  we  have  to 
deal  with  the  so-called  Middle  Ages.  In  this  period 
the  figures,  the  institutions,  and  the  important 
events  have  a  certain  romantic  attraction,  especially 
for  boyhood,  when  a  capacity  for  gaining  a  vivid 
realization  of  these  times  is  either  wanting  or  is 
insufficiently  acute.  The  fact  is  especially  true, 
for  example,  of  the  royal  figures  of  Conrad  I.,  of 
Otto  II.  and  Otto  III.,  and  to  some  extent  of 
the  Hohenstaufen.  The  picture  will  be  strongly 
idealized  because  the  details  of  its  past  are  very 
alien  to  ourselves,  and  transmitted  by  chroniclers 

6 


82  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

of  very  defective  capacity.  Mature  minds  are  in 
little  better  case  even  after  reading  the  original 
sources,  or  a  narrative  so  detailed  as  the  seven 
volumes  of  Giesebrecht.  In  any  case  it  is  the  per- 
sonal element  that  is  most  easily  realized,  and  this 
must  therefore  be  made  prominent.  We  refer  to  the 
personal  and  not  to  the  biographical  element,  and, 
so  far  as  is  permitted  by  the  course  of  events  and  by 
the  circumstantial  details  to  be  worked  into  the 
narrative,  we  should  advise  the  teacher  to  rely  upon 
a  choice  of  definite  characters,  and  to  make  them  as 
realistic  as  possible  by  this  method.  At  this  stage 
the  master  must  clearly  understand  the  necessity  of 
abandoning  the  ordinary  uniform  method  of  treat- 
ment, for  the  reason  that  the  historical  material  at 
his  disposal  is  too  extensive.  He  must  clearly  and 
carefully  distinguish  between  the  narrative  of  his- 
torical fact,  which  fact  will  be  divided  into  the 
clearest  possible  sections,  and  the  narrative  dealing 
with  the  manner  of  the  fact  ;  this  will  be  related  upon 
broader  lines  with  as  much  characteristic  detail  as  the 
scanty  time  allotted  permits.  Instances  of  the  first 
division  are  the  whole  period  until  a.d.  476,  the  early 
history  of  Rome  and  the  Teutonic  world ;  here  full 
narratives  can  be  given  of  the  first  conflicts  between 
Varus  and  Arminius,  between  Arminius  and  his 
brother  Flavius  (Tacitus,  Annals,  ii.  9,  10).  Later, 
only  special  details  can  be  given  ;  for  instance,  the 
character  of  Attila,  as  derived  from  the  impressions 
of  eyewitnesses,  such  as  the  Greek  Priscus  at  his 
embassy  in  446 ;  Theoderich  and  Chlodovech  can  be 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  83 

individualized  only  to  a  moderate  extent  ;  the  figure 
of  Charles  the  Great  can  be  depicted  more  easily 
and  with  greater  detail.  This  latter  figure  can  be 
made  the  subject  of  three  or  four  narrative  lessons, 
as  warrior,  conqueror,  restorer  of  the  Imperium 
JRomanum,  and  as  ruler,  as  the  zealous  and  self- 
taught  prince  who  eagerly  fostered  education,  trade, 
and  civilization.  Here  an  opportunity  arises  for 
introducing  some  points  with  reference  to  the 
history  of  civilization  ;  something  can  be  done  after 
the  style  of  Guizot  in  the  twentieth  lesson  of  his 
Histoire  de  la  Civilisation  en  France,  where  he  deals 
with  Hincmar  in  order  to  give  the  pupil  an  idea  of 
the  conduct  of  business  in  the  assemblies  of  Charles 
the  Great,  and  of  the  general  duties  of  his  Missi. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  whole  period  from  814  to 
911,  or  even  to  936,  and  the  reigns  of  Otto  II.  and 
III.,  cannot  be  explained  continuously  ;  some  leading 
tendencies  and  facts  with  other  landmarks  of  the  kind 
can  be  given,  and  a  character  briefly  sketched  here 
and  there  as  occasion  arises.  The  First,  and  cer- 
tainly the  Third  Crusade  can  be  fully  detailed,  but 
of  the  other  Crusades  only  the  main  outlines  can  be 
given.  In  this  case  we  do  not  propose  any  attempt 
to  exhaust  the  whole  of  the  allotted  period.  It  is 
obvious  that  considerable  liberty  of  choice  is  here 
left  to  the  master,  and  that  the  better  he  knows  his 
subject,  the  better  he  will  select  points  for  special 
treatment  ;  in  this  power  of  independent  choice 
much  of  his  skill  and  capacity  as  a  historical 
teacher  lies.     We  need  not  discuss  the  point  further, 

6—2 


84  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

and  will  only  refer  to  some  special  difficulties  which 
arise  in  dealing  with  medieval  history  in  a  Lower- 
Fourth  Form. 

The  first  difficulty  is  also  one  that  affects  the 
subject-matter  allotted  to  the  succeeding  Form,  and 
it  is  this  :  notwithstanding  the  wealth  of  our  his- 
torical literature  and  the  numerous  German  histories 
of  every  kind  and  length,  we  have  as  yet  no  suitable 
book.  A  book  in  two  or  three  volumes  is  required 
which  will  provide  the  master  who  has  to  teach 
this  period  to  the  rising  generation  at  once  with  the 
substance  of  what  he  has  to  say  and  an  example  of 
the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  said.  The  fact  is 
not  surprising.  Such  a  narrative  would  be  far  harder 
to  write  in  this  case  than  in  the  case  of  any  other 
nation,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Italian  history. 
We  shall  not  be  far  wrong  in  saying  that  it  was  only 
a  short  time  ago,  in  1870  and  1871,  that  the  most 
important  preliminary  work  for  the  writing  of  such 
a  book  was  performed  ;  other  learned  preliminary 
monographs  are  still  in  progress,  and  prove,  as  in 
the  case  of  true  historical  investigators,  that  religious 
or  party  prejudices  form  no  obstacle  to  the  com- 
position of  a  truly  national  narrative.  A  case  in 
point  is  the  excellent  work  of  Moritz  Ritter,  which 
deals  with  a  period  exceedingly  difficult  to  handle 
for  secondary  schools  (1555-1648).*  There  is  thus 
here  a  great  deficiency  to  be  made  good,  and  mean- 

*  Deutsche  Geschichte,  1555-1648,  vol.  i.,  Stuttgart,  1889; 
vol.  ii.,  1895.  The  first  half  of  vol.  iii.  (to  1625)  appeared  in 
1901.     The  remaining  half  is  expected  shortly. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  85 

while  the  teacher  must  use  such  helps  as  he  can  find  ; 
these,  at  any  rate  where  he  is  a  beginner,  will  show 
him  the  amount  and  extent  of  the  detail  to  be 
employed,  and  this  is  no  small  service.  If  he  be 
entrusted  with  a  section  of  historical  teaching  for 
any  length  of  time,  he  will  be  obliged  by  degrees 
to  read  a  number  of  special  histories,  and  also  to 
take  from  the  school  library,  at  first  for  his  own 
instruction,  the  German  translations  of  the  original 
authorities  for  the  Middle  Ages. 

A  second  difficulty  is  the  fact  that  ecclesiastical 
and  dogmatic  considerations,  of  which  the  Fourth- 
Form  boy  knows  very  little,  play  so  important  a 
part  in  medieval  history.  The  pupil  does  not  as 
yet  understand  the  fierce  animosity  that  arose  on 
dogmatic  points  upon  the  coexistence  of  the  two 
natures  in  Christ,  upon  the  procession  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  6/jloiov<tig<;  or  o/ioovctlos,  upon  Arianism, 
Athanasianism,  etc.  The  whole  limit  of  ideas 
which  dominated  medieval  humanity  is  totally 
unknown  to  the  pupil,  who  therefore  runs  a  danger 
which  did  not  arise  in  the  study  of  ancient  history — 
the  danger  of  gaining  a  wholly  distorted  view  of 
many  great  and  important  events.  It  is,  indeed,  a 
much  more  difficult  task  to  make  a  boy  understand 
the  importance  of  Gregory  VII.,  Innocent  III.,  or 
Alexander  III.  than  of  Socrates  or  Demosthenes, 
or  even  of  Plato.  The  master,  especially  if  he  be  a 
Protestant,  must  be  careful  in  dealing  with  the 
history  of  Henry  IV.  or  Frederick  II.  not  to  paint 
hierarchical  greed  for  power  in  too  vivid  colours. 


86  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

There  are,  however,  sides  of  medieval  life  which  can 
be  brought  closely  home  to  the  pupil's  intelligence. 
He  can  understand  the  elements  of  heroism,  not 
merely  that  of  chivalry,  but  also  that  of  renuncia- 
tion, as  it  appears  in  the  pure  forms  of  the  monastic 
system.  He  can  understand,  too,  the  civilizing  work 
of  monasticism,  can  appreciate  figures  like  St.  Gall 
and  the  battle  of  his  Irish  monks  with  the  demons 
of  the  wilderness.  The  master  therefore  must  resist 
the  temptation,  which  in  our  days  is  often  strong,  to 
emphasize  unduly  the  ridiculous  side  of  medieval  life 
and  its  unbounded  credulity ;  for  modern  rationalism 
attempts  upon  occasion,  with  refined  hypocrisy,  to 
represent  the  simple  beliefs  of  the  medieval  world 
as  so  many  attempts  at  self-aggrandizement. 

At  certain  points  of  Lower-Fourth  instruction  this 
difficulty  merges  into  another,  of  which  we  shall 
speak  later.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion which  has  divided  the  German  and  the  European 
world  for  some  four  centuries  is  already  obvious  in 
the  history,  for  instance,  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
in  the  conflict  between  the  Reformers  and  the  Pope, 
and,  on  the  other  side,  between  the  Reformers  of  the 
Council  of  Constance  and  John  Huss.  These  diffi- 
culties, however,  can  be  met  by  tact  and  dexterity 
on  the  teacher's  part.  A  Lower-Fourth-Forni  boy  is 
not  likely  to  understand  the  special  point  of  the  Con- 
stance tragedy,  which  induced  the  majority  of  the 
Council  to  put  a  Reformer  to  death  as  a  heretic.  He 
can,  however,  understand  that  an  honourable  man. 
who  might  have  saved  his  life  by  renouncing  what 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  87 

he  believed  to  be  true,  preferred  death  to  renuncia- 
tion ;  he  may  gain  a  healthy  horror  of  the  disgrace 
inflicted  upon  the  Christian  religion  by  the  practice 
de  comburendo  hceretico,  and  if  tins  horror  becomes 
part  of  his  life  the  consequence  is  but  one  of  the 
many  benefits  which  historical  instruction  can  and 
should  effect. 

The  difficulty  becomes  more  obvious  in  the  period 
covered  by  the  Upper  Fourth — the  period  of  modern 
German  history,  which  cannot  be  so  easily  separated 
from  European  history  as  in  the  case  of  the  Lower 
Fourth.  An  instance  is  the  first  period  from  1517 
to  1648.  The  difficulty  consists  in  the  fact  that 
every  Form  is  a  mixture  of  different  religious  creeds 
in  varying  percentages — in  other  words,  there  are 
thirty-two  millions  of  Protestants  and  eighteen  mil- 
lions of  Catholics  in  the  German  Empire,  leaving  the 
smaller  religious  bodies  out  of  consideration.  The 
problem  grows  more  important  as  the  upper  stages 
are  reached,  but  some  discussion  must  be  devoted 
to  it  at  this  point.  We  would  first  protest  against 
one  means  of  confronting  the  difficulty — the  pro- 
vision of  different  editions  of  the  same  text-book 
for  Catholic  and  for  Evangelical  schools.  Such  a 
proposal  is  almost  an  insult  to  the  German  secondary 
school  system,  and  is  in  any  case  useless,  as  there 
are  very  few  schools  which  are  entirely  Evangelical 
or  entirely  Catholic.  Our  systematic,  or  so-called 
scientific,  works  upon  pedagogics  and  teaching  theory 
generally  seem  to  avoid  the  point ;  and  naturally  so, 
for  it  is  a  question  of  practice,  and  does  not  arise  in 


88  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

theory.  History  is  history  for  Catholic  and  Pro- 
testant alike.  It  will  be  also  readily  admitted 
that  hitherto  the  difficulty  has  not  appeared  particu- 
larly acute.  Agitation  has  not  yet  invaded  this 
sphere,  and  the  long,  persistent  use  of  the  text- 
books of  Putz  in  many  Evangelical  schools,  and  the 
books  of  Herbst  in  many  Catholic  schools,  shows  that 
here  all  is  peaceful  as  yet.  It  is  possible  that  the 
peace  will  not  be  of  long  duration,  and  the  matter 
deserves  our  serious  consideration  from  an  educa- 
tional point  of  view  and  sense  of  duty,  which  we 
must  carefully  distinguish  from  the  standpoint  of 
school  politics  or  from  politics  of  any  kind.  Hence 
we  may  set  down  some  plain  rules,  drawn  from 
information  kindly  given  us  by  Catholic  and  Evan- 
gelical history  teachers.  In  the  first  place,  the 
master  must  remember  that  his  business  is  to  relate 
history  as  it  happened,  to  explain  how  men  acted 
under  the  special  conditions  of  time,  place,  morals, 
civilization  or  the  want  of  it.  It  is  not  the  master's 
business  to  glorify  the  Catholic  or  Evangelical  con- 
ception of  Christianity ;  tins  can  be  left  to  the 
clergy  or  to  such  occasions  as  are  not  specially 
concerned  with  historical  teaching.  In  the  second 
place,  the  master  must  clearly  distinguish  in  his 
mind  between  the  idea  of  the  Church,  whether 
Catholic  or  Protestant,  and  its  earthly  and  fallible 
servants  and  champions,  and  this  distinction  must 
be  made  plain  to  the  pupil.  In  the  third  place,  the 
Protestant  history  teacher  who  notoriously  is  in  this 
point  free  and  independent  enough,  thanks  to  the  idea 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  89 

of  the  invisible  Church,  should  lay  great  stress 
on  such  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  as  have 
deserved  well  of  humanity,  dwelling  with  no  less 
emphasis  upon  deficiencies  or  failures  on  the  Pro- 
testant side  where  such  occur.  When  the  persecu- 
tion of  different  faiths  comes  in  question,  let  him 
avoid  the  dangerous  prejudice  which  represents  the 
Roman  Church  as  alone  guilty  in  this  respect.  The 
fact  is  obviously  untrue,  and  our  instruction  must 
combat  this  sad  and  miserable  side  of  human 
nature  in  every  form,  and  for  this  purpose  expose 
its  misdeeds,  whether  they  happened  at  Rome, 
Geneva,  Dresden,  or  elsewhere. 

At  this  point  we  can  go  a  step  further.  We  reject 
every  premeditated  attempt  to  stimulate  patriotism, 
but  we  do  not  wish  to  underrate  the  patriotic  influ- 
ence of  the  study  of  national  history,  or,  rather,  the 
influence  of  the  German  who  teaches  that  history. 
We  have,  indeed,  every  reason  to  bring  this  force 
into  play  at  the  present  moment.  The  fact  is 
obvious  that  within  the  last  ten  years  there  has 
been  a  revival  of  religious  exclusiveness  and  fanati- 
cism. Some  ground  had  been  temporarily,  if  not 
definitely,  gained,  but  this  has  once  more  been  lost — 
let  us  hope,  not  for  long.  It  is,  therefore,  a  duty 
imposed  on  us,  not  by  the  State,  by  a  Ministry,  or 
an  Educational  Council,  but  by  the  genius  of  our 
nation  and  the  Christian  religion,  to  repair  this 
deficiency.  The  work  can  be  done  quietly,  with- 
out rhetorical  flourish.  It  is  necessary  for  the  his- 
torical teacher  in  our  secondary  schools  to  present 


90  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

the  national  history  of  the  last  four  centuries  from 
a  wider  point  of  view  than  that  which  is  afforded 
to  the  limited  vision  of  a  definite  religious  party  or 
creed.  At  the  same  time  it  must  not  be  forgotten, 
in  dealing  with  the  Upper-Fourth  Form,  that  our 
patriotism  is  not  the  narrow  national  pride  of  the 
Englishman  or  the  Spaniard,  nor,  again,  is  it  the 
Chauvinism  of  the  Frenchman  ;  it  is  open-hearted 
and  free,  and  desirous  of  comprehending  its  nation 
and  its  history  as  part  of  a  great  connected  European 
development.  The  period  from  1517  to  1871  is  un- 
intelligible considered  purely  as  German  history  ; 
the  extremely  difficult  period  from  1555  to  1648  is 
best  treated,  not  merely  as  German,  but  as  European 
history.  At  this  stage,  when  seed  of  this  kind  does 
not  immediately  bear  fruit,  but  is  not  entirely 
lost,  it  is  advisable  to  emphasize  the  positive  and 
creative  importance  of  the  ecclesiastical  separa- 
tion ;  for  instance,  to  explain  how  the  opposition 
between  the  two  different  conceptions  of  Christianity, 
known  as  Catholicism  and  Protestantism,  provided 
a  stimulus  to  European  life  which  prevented 
stagnation  and  forced  it  to  advance  from  step  to 
step. 

As  regards  revision,  revision  of  every  preceding 
lesson  is  in  every  case  highly  valuable,  and  especially 
valuable  in  the  Fourth  Form.  Historical  matter  is 
not  connected,  as  are  mathematical  or  grammatical 
details,  by  any  clear  law,  even  when  the  master  is 
able  to  deliver  his  explanations  with  a  clarity  and 
precision  of  expression  which  many  of  our  famous 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  91 

historical  investigators  and  writers  have  failed  to 
acquire.  The  subject  is  exposed  to  the  possibility 
of  many  misunderstandings,  confusions,  and  dis- 
placements. Half-knowledge  is  common,  and  its 
effects  are  even  more  disastrous  than  complete 
ignorance  ;  hence  every  series  of  events — for  instance, 
the  very  difficult  history  preliminary  to  the  Thirty 
Years'  War — must  necessarily  be  gone  through 
twice  :  once  by  way  of  narration  and  description, 
and  again  by  way  of  revision.  We  should  also 
advise  that  revision,  even  of  the  second  kind — the 
general  revision  of  large  sections  of  history — should 
be  performed  with  special  reference  at  this  stage  to 
actual  facts  and  events.  The  methods  above  out- 
lined should  be  used  in  somewhat  elementary  form, 
and  the  leading  motives  treated  somewhat  super- 
ficially. Questions  should  be  of  the  following  form  : 
With  what  foreign  enemies  had  Germany  to  struggle 
in  the  ninth,  tenth,  and  other  centuries  ?  What 
nationalities  conquered  and  devastated  Italy  from 
a.d.  476  to  1527  ?  Which  of  these  nations  left 
permanent  traces  of  its  occupation  upon  the 
country  ?  What  part  of  Germany  and  what  countries 
of  Europe  adhered  to  the  Augsburg  Confession,  and 
winch  remained  by  the  Old  Church  at  the  outset  of 
the  seventeenth  century  ?  What  districts  of  Germany 
became  seats  of  war  during  the  Thirty  Years'  War 
and  other  wars  ?     And  so  forth. 

In  our  opinion,  there  is  no  material  difference 
between  historical  teaching  in  the  classical  schools 
and  the  corresponding  classes  of  the  modern  schools- 


92  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

In  the  Prussian  syllabus  of  1892  an  extra  hour 
(2+2)  is  granted  to  "history  and  geography," 
which  hour  is  very  properly  assigned  to  geography. 
The  history  teaching  at  these  institutions  seems  to 
us  of  special  importance  for  the  reason  that  the 
influences  which  can  foster  the  historical  sense  are 
provided  in  but  very  moderate  amount  by  the  other 
subjects  of  instruction  in  the  modern  school.  The 
learning  of  English  at  tins  stage  widens  the  intel- 
lectual horizon,  as  does  the  learning  of  any  new 
foreign  tongue.  It  is,  however,  by  the  whole 
organization  and  object  of  the  modern  school, 
devoted  to  purposes  primarily  and  immediately 
practical,  and  very  reasonably,  too  ;  but  the  in- 
direct benefits  which  in  other  cases  can  be  expected 
from  so  many  sides  as  a  stimulus  to  historical  per- 
ception are  here  inconsiderable.  Historical  teaching 
has,  by  its  very  essence,  both  a  realist  and  an 
idealist  side.  The  men  of  whom  we  read  were 
beings  of  like  passions  with  ourselves,  experiencing 
our  own  needs,  our  own  weaknesses,  and  our  own 
ambitions  ;  but  the  wide  connexion  in  which  we 
meet  them  gives  them  a  character  similar  to  the 
heroes  of  Greek  mythology.  We  hope  we  shall  not 
be  misunderstood  when  we  say  that  in  the  classical 
school  the  realistic  side  should  be  emphasized,  while 
in  the  modern  school  the  ideal  side  should  be  brought 
out.  In  other  words,  had  we  more  time  at  our 
disposal  for  teaching  history  in  the  modern  school 
where  Latin  is  not  learnt,  we  should,  in  treating  of 
the  Crusades,  dwell  less  upon  the  commercial  results, 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  93 

and  more  upon  the  religious  impulse  due  to  these 
enterprises,  and  handle  the  point  with  less  detail 
in  the  classical  school. 


Lower  Fifth. 

Here  we  reach  the  last  year  of  the  central  stage, 
which  we  have  assumed  for  our  purpose.  The  new 
organization  in  Prussia,  which  has  been  in  force 
since  the  time  of  the  so-called  scholastic  reform, 
has  given  this  Form  a  somewhat  special  character. 
The  Form  is  preparing  for  the  junior  leaving  certifi- 
cate, for  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  any  educa- 
tional reform  in  Germany  or  Prussia  would  miss 
the  opportunity  of  instituting  a  new  examination. 
The  examination  has  now  been  abolished,  but  the 
hypothesis  on  which  it  rested  remains.  It  was 
assumed  that  this  Form  would  have  closed  the  first 
stage  in  the  education  of  a  scholar,  and  the  assump- 
tion as  such  was  justified.  The  pupils  thus  will 
realize  more  clearly  the  fact  that  they  have  reached 
the  turning-point,  for  the  reason  that  a  certain 
number  of  their  comrades  now  leave  school  for 
practical  or  industrial  life,  though  by  no  means  so 
many  as  seem  to  have  been  expected  when  the 
examination  was  introduced.  There  was  at  least 
one  good  point  in  the  certificate  examination — it 
gave  an  ocular  proof  to  the  members  of  this  Form 
of  the  serious  nature  of  their  position.  It  is  true 
that,  after  the  introduction  of  the  examination, 
every  possible  effort  was  made  to  lower  this  impor- 


04  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

tance.  It  was  not  to  be  taken  very  seriously,  and 
was  nothing  more  than  an  ordinary  school  examina- 
tion of  somewhat  more  formal  nature.  The  scholars 
at  this  stage,  however,  regarded  it  as  a  serious 
business,  more  seriously,  perhaps,  than  the  senior 
leaving  certificate  will  be  considered.  At  this  point 
we  propose  to  make  a  small  divergence  into  the 
region  of  school  politics,  which  have  no  immediate 
connexion  with  our  subject.  There  is  a  band  of 
zealous  humanists,  with  whom  we  agree  in  all 
essential  points,  which  offers  a  strong  opposition  to 
the  grant  of  any  concessions  to  Lower-Fifth  boys 
who  leave  their  school.  In  the  Berlin  Conference  of 
1873  Bonitz  designated  them  as  deserters  from  the 
flag.  This  body  accordingly  desires  to  make  the  well- 
known  privilege  of  one  year's  military  service  con- 
ditional upon  passing  the  school-leaving  certificate, 
or  at  any  rate  upon  concluding  the  full  secondary 
course.  We  regard  this  last  rigorous  measure  as 
neither  useful  nor  feasible.  P.  Cauer,  the  learned 
and  zealous  champion  of  this  view,  says  that  the 
classical  school  is  a  school  for  the  few,  and  not  for 
the  many.  We,  however,  consider  it  much  more 
to  the  interest  of  the  nation  that  the  leading  classes 
in  trade  and  manufacture,  in  military  and  technical 
pursuits,  in  town  councils  and  Parliament,  should 
contain  a  strong  infusion  of  men  who  have  gone 
through  a  secondary  course  of  education,  even  if 
they  have  only  reached  the  Upper  Fifth.  Hence,  in 
our  view,  the  secondary  school  is  a  school,  not  for 
the  few,  but  for  as  many  as  possible.      Therefore 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  95 

we  consider  that  the  syllabus  should  not  be  cut 
short  at  the  Lower  Fifth,  as  was  done  in  the  Prussian 
scheme  of  1892  ;  it  should  be  drawn  up  as  if  every 
pupil  in  a  secondary  school  were  to  make  the  leaving 
certificate  Ins  final  object.  We  do  not  see  why 
those  who  leave  from  the  Lower  Fifth,  often  much 
against  their  will  and  under  force  of  circumstances, 
should  be  called  deserters  from  the  flag,  or  should 
be  considered  a  guantite  negligeable  as  regards  the 
famous  right  of  a  certificate.  The  regulation  in 
any  case  would  be  of  little  use,  as  the  instruction 
in  the  Lower  Fifth,  and  the  teachers  who  give  it, 
would  naturally  be  strongly  influenced  by  considera- 
tion for  those  who  were  shortly  to  appear  as  can- 
didates for  certificates.  There  will  always  be  some 
who  wish  or  are  obliged  to  leave  from  the  Lower 
Fifth,  and  their  special  case  has  been  considered 
without  injuring  the  vital  principles  of  secondary 
instruction  in  the  historical  period  set  down  for 
study  by  this  Form.  At  this  point  we  must  make 
a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  extract  what  benefit 
may  be  gained  from  the  new  regulation.  Though 
the  Form  is  regarded  as  a  concluding  stage,  it  must 
be  so  handled  as  to  advance  the  progress  of  those 
who  intend  to  enter  the  higher  stages.  In  fact, 
the  character  of  the  Form  work  is  "  conclusive,"  is 
intended  to  produce  positive  benefit,  and  such 
benefit  will  be  apparent  somewhere  in  our  special 
subject.  Of  Greek  and  Latin  we  need  speak  no 
further ;  they  remain  the  chief  source  of  influence  for 
developing  the  historical  sense,  much  as  their  efficacy 


no  THE  TEACHING  OF  HTSTORY 

has  been  impaired  under  the  new  era  in  Prussia. 
Now  that  linguistic  difficulties  are  less  predominant, 
the  Anabasis  of  Xenophon  can  be  better  appreciated, 
and  the  Homeric  world  is  now  first  opened  to  the 
form.  Even  for  those  who  leave  at  the  end  of  the 
school  year  this  work  is  by  no  means  entirely  lost. 
In  Latin  Cicero's  speeches  are  read,  some  Sallust  or 
Livy,  and  some  poetry.  Virgil — in  Prussia  at  least 
— is  almost  too  difficult,  but  Ovid's  Fasti  can  be 
read  at  this  stage,  and  provides  numerous  pictures 
of  Roman  holiday  customs  and  working  life  in  easy 
and  suitable  selections.  As  regards  French,  the 
advantages  of  this  language  are  better  appreciated 
— its  clarity  of  expression  and  the  relative  perfec- 
tion of  its  prose.  If  it  should  happen  that  a  good 
modern  play  is  read,  the  delicacy  of  French  dialogue 
becomes  more  obvious.  Thus  the  pupils  learn  to 
appreciate  the  high  qualities  of  a  foreign  neighbour- 
ing nation  immediately  through  their  language,  which 
was  impossible  in  the  Fourth  Form,  and  the  results 
are  also  of  importance  as  contributing  to  the  historical 
sense  of  justice  and  truth.  It  will  be  objected  that 
these  matters  have  but  a  very  indirect  connexion 
with  historical  teaching.  This  objection  we  admit. 
Even  more  indirect  at  this  stage  is,  possibly,  the  study 
of  German  literature,  though  it  is  highly  important 
as  contributing  to  that  side  of  culture  which  we 
understand  under  the  term  "  historical  sense." 
German  literature  lessons,  where  they  are  concerned 
with  reading,  undergo  an  essential  change  of  char- 
acter at  this  stage.     In  the  last  four  months  of  the 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  97 

Upper  -  Fourth-Form  instruction  more  important 
dramatic  works  are  usually  read,  to  which  prac- 
tice no  objection  can  possibly  be  raised.  As  we 
have  said,  we  should  like  to  add  such  patriotic 
pieces  as  Uhland's  Herzog  Ernst,  Kleist's  Prinz 
von  Honnburg,  Goethe's  Gbtz  von  Berlichingen ; 
but  we  should  not  follow  the  proposals  of  the 
Prussian  syllabus  of  1892  in  adding  Schiller's  Tell, 
which  is  much  more  suitable  for  a  Fifth  Form.  The 
Fourth  Form  is  more  concerned  with  the  matter  of 
poetry  than  with  the  art  or  spirit  of  it,  and  has  no 
appreciation  of  its  beauty  as  such.  This  is  no  mis- 
fortune in  itself,  and  must  be  accepted.  The  change 
begins,  as  it  should,  in  the  Lower  Fifth.  Here  pupils 
read  various  dramatic  works  of  first-rate  merit — 
Tell,  the  Jungfrau  von  Orleans,  Hermann  und 
Dorothea.  They  are  now  introduced  to  poetry  as 
a  work  of  art,  and  rise  above  the  mere  consideration 
of  the  subject-matter.  Any  German  that  is  read 
in  this  Form  should  be  read  from  the  {esthetic  point 
of  view.*  We  assert  as  a  definite  principle  in  this 
Form  that  the  study  of  German  literature  should 
have  no  direct  connexion  with  the  historical  in- 
struction. Schiller's  Tell  derives  no  interest  or 
effect  from  the  fact  that  at  one  time  in  the  year 
a.d.  1308  some  events  of  the  kind  actually  happened 

*  By  this  we  do  not  mean  to  agree  with  the  statement 
of  the  Prussian  syllabus  of  1892,  which  says  on  p.  15  :  "  The 
commentary  is  to  be  as  simple  as  possible,  and  to  be  governed 
by  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  pupil  to  comprehend  the  whole 
as  a  self-contained  work  of  art."    This  was  not  repeated  in  1901. 

7 


98  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

in  Switzerland.  The  poet  here  makes  free  use  of 
historical  fact  for  his  own  purpose,  and  his  pro- 
cedure is  justified  by  the  beauty  which  he  has 
created.  It  is  unhistorical,  but  is  eternally  true, 
and  does  not  profess  to  be  what  actually  happened, 
or  was  supposed  to  have  happened,  at  any  definite 
time  in  the  fourteenth  or  fifteenth  or  any  other 
century.  Naturally,  any  extension  of  outlook  or 
clarity  of  ideas  which  the  pupil  may  gain  from  good, 
or  even  from  moderately  good,  German  literature 
lessons  is  so  much  advantage  to  the  historical 
teacher.  The  advantage,  however,  in  this  case  is 
derived  by  a  negative  process,  by  the  comparison 
of  poetical  with  historical  truth,  by  the  distinction 
between  what  happened  at  a  definite  time  and  place 
through  the  action  of  definite  people,  and  is  thus 
true  or  actual,  and  that  which  never  happened  at 
any  time  anywhere,  but  is  none  the  less  true  of  all 
times  and  places  ;  this  is  a  distinction  that  becomes 
clearer  to  the  pupil's  consciousness  at  this  stage. 
At  the  same  time  the  distinction  is  connected  with 
a  further  point  which  the  teacher  must  carefully 
consider.  We  have  said  earlier  that  true  historical 
teaching  can  only  begin  when  some  idea,  however 
vague,  has  been  secured  of  the  difference  between 
what  actually  happened  and  what  is  only  said  by 
poetry  or  legend  to  have  happened.  At  this  age 
and  stage  of  school  life  the  psychological  process 
is  completed  ;  historical  criticism  comes  into  being, 
and  should  be  trained  by  the  master  at  intervals 
and  tactfully,   but  certainly  not  avoided  entirely. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  99 

A  Third-Form  boy  is  sorry  to  hear  that  Tell  had  no 
actual  existence ;  a  Fifth-Form  boy  feels  differently, 
because  for  him  this  heroic  figure  lives  in  a  much 
higher  sense.  Hence  we  assume  that  when  occasion 
arises,  the  history  master  may  turn  to  this  point. 
He  should  not  touch  upon  it  too  frequently,  or 
with  ulterior  object,  and  certainly  not  in  order  to 
display  his  own  learning  ;  but  it  is  worth  while  to 
take  some  traditional  or  widespread  falsehood,  some 
one  of  the  ineradicable  stories  of  historical  assassina- 
tions and  legendary  cruelties,  and  refute  it  critically 
by  the  use  of  evidence.  This  process  strengthens 
the  sense  of  historical  truth,  and  the  mind  thus 
trained  is  not  likely  to  be  attracted,  for  instance,  by 
the  foolish  and  malignant  gossip  concerning  the 
suicide  of  Luther,  or  the  many  poisonings  attributed 
to  the  Jesuits. 

To  historical  study  as  such — that  is,  to  history 
and  geography — three  lessons  a  week  (2+1)  are 
assigned  in  Prussia  and  elsewhere.  As  regards  the 
particular  geography  to  be  studied,  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  tins  Form  is  the 
concluding  stage  for  some  pupils,  and  is  a  relative 
conclusion  for  others.  This  subject  is  the  political 
geography  of  the  European  states,  with  constant 
reference  to  the  corresponding  conditions  in  the 
German  Empire.  The  task  of  comparison  is  easy 
and  highly  instructive,  as,  in  accordance  with  our 
presuppositions,  the  geography  of  Germany  has 
formed  the  main  theme  of  geographical  instruction 
during  the  two  years  in  the  Fourth  Form.     These 

7—2 


100         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

two  geographical  points  are  in  congruity  with  the 
historical  period  assigned  to  the  Lower  Fifth  by  the 
Prussian  syllabus,  winch  requires  the  last  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  German-Prussian  history.  This 
is  a  period  which  can  only  be  treated  as  German- 
European,  whatever  people  may  say.*  We  must 
not,  however,  be  led  astray  in  this  matter  by  the 
Prussian  syllabus  of  1901 — "  Revision  and  comple- 
tion of  the  geography  of  Europe,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  German  Empire."  Were  this  instruction 
in  our  hands,  we  should  take  the  liberty  of  con- 
sidering the  above-mentioned  comparison  as  the 
desired  and  necessary  completion.  Two  lessons  a 
week  are  given  in  the  modern  schools  for  the  same 
sensible  object.  For  the  moment  we  assume  this 
syllabus  as  fixed  ;  it  is  already  obvious  that  the 
equipment  of  the  classical  school  pupil  who  enters 
practical  life  after  six  years  at  school  includes  but  one 
year  of  ancient  history,  and  on  this  we  shall  have  to 
speak  when  we  proceed  to  discuss  the  Upper  Fifth. 

*  "  The  history  of  other  countries,"  say  the  Prussian  syllabuses 
of  1892  and  1901,  "  is  only  to  be  introduced  so  far  as  is  necessary 
for  the  understanding  of  German  and  Brandenburg-Prussian 
history."  This,  however,  implies  a  good  deal  of  European 
history  before  the  period  from  1740  to  1871 ;  we  cannot  understand 
how,  for  instance,  the  Napoleonic  epoch  from  1804  to  1815  can 
be  treated  except  as  European  history.  Nobody  as  yet  has 
proposed  to  introduce  into  this  period  the  domestic  history  of 
England  or  Russia  or  Sweden.  We  do  not,  however,  wish  that 
our  historical  instructions  and  conceptions  should  sink  to  the 
level  of  English  historical  writing  as  represented  by  A  History 
of  our  Own  Times  (McCarthy),  which  means  nothing  more  than  a 
history  of  England  of  our  own  times. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  101 

Here  we  must  say  a  word  on  geographical  instruc- 
tion. Our  remarks  may  not  be  very  idealistic,  and 
wall  possibly  be  in  contradiction  to  the  views  of 
many  respected  geographical  meetings,  though  it  is 
known  that  geographers,  like  all  specialists,  are 
inclined  to  consider  that  the  business  of  school- 
boys is  to  study  their  special  subject  throughout 
every  hour  that  can  be  secured  for  the  purpose. 
We  should  certainly  be  wrong  in  acceding  to  the 
views  of  Bonitz  at  the  Berlin  Conference  of  1873, 
who  wished  to  deprive  geography  of  its  character  as 
a  science,  and  said  that  it  was  but  a  mosaic  of  more 
or  less  useful  scraps  of  knowledge  collected  from 
many  other  departments.  It  is  possible  to  give  a 
description  of  the  present  conditions  of  our  planet 
in  strictly  scientific  form,  and  so  far  geography  is  a 
science  ;  but  for  school  purposes — and  we  refer  to 
classical  as  well  as  modern  or  commercial  schools — 
we  are  obliged  to  emphasize  the  utilitarian  character 
of  geography  as  a  school  subject,  especially  in  the 
Lower  Fifth.  Geography,  in  our  opinion  at  this  stage, 
has  to  be  directed  to  the  very  excellent  and  im- 
portant object  of  providing  pupils,  whether  they 
aim  at  practical  life  or  further  study,  with  useful 
knowledge  concerning  the  position,  the  products, 
the  resources,  the  wealth,  the  civilization,  etc.,  of 
the  European  States,  with  continual  reference  to 
the  conditions  which  obtain  in  Germany.  For  two 
years  Germany  has  been  the  object  of  historical 
teaching ;  for  a  third  year,  in  the  Lower  Fifth,  geo- 
graphy must  be  concerned  with  the  political  de- 


LIB 
UNIVERSITY  01 


102         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

scription  of  the  European  world,  in  the  centre  of 
which  our  country  stands,  the  object  being  that 
the  pupil  may  compare  in  every  case  the  conditions 
prevalent  in  his  own  country  with  those  of  other 
countries.  He  will  learn  that  the  French  army 
contains  so  many  hundred  thousand  men,  and  the 
German  army  so  many  hundred  thousand  ;  that 
England  or  Germany  owns  so  many  cattle,  sheep, 
horses,  and  donkeys ;  he  will  learn  the  per- 
centage of  illiterates  in  Spain  as  compared  with 
Germany,  etc. 

Thus,  our  opinion  is  that,  at  this  point,  even  in 
the  classical  school,  a  strongly  practical  element 
should  be  introduced.  Classical  schools  are  by  no 
means  so  idealistic  as  they  are  represented,  and 
even  in  the  department  of  history  we  should  like 
to  see  a  strong  and  practical  realism  side  by  side 
with  idealism.  Utilitarianism  and  science  are  by 
no  means  mutually  opposed.*  Learning  must, 
indeed,  be  pursued  for  the  sake  of  learning,  and 
Latin,  Greek,  or  mathematics,  from  this  point  of 
view,  are  no  trivial  matters  ;  but  all  theoretical  and 
practical  educationists  of  any  soundness  will  admit 

*  W.  Munch,  in  his  latest  work,  Zukunftspddagogik  (Berlin, 
1904),  p.  216,  says  :  "  The  contrast  between  utilitarianism  and 
idealism  as  factors  in  education  must  not  be  considered  so  sharply 
as  has  hitherto  been  customary.  The  one  standpoint  does  not 
exclude  the  other,  and  in  any  case  the  subject  matter  of  education 
can  be  given  one  or  the  other  character,  as  desirable."  This  is 
and  always  has  been  our  opinion,  and  we  are  therefore  not  affected 
by  the  reproach  made  by  Munch  on  p.  208,  when  he  refers  to 
"  the  older  representatives  of  our  higher  educational  system." 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  103 

that  boys  of  fifteen,  sixteen,  and  seventeen  years 
at  this  stage,  can  be  emphatically  reminded  that  they 
are  learning  for  the  work  of  life,  and  not  for  life  in 
general,  but  for  the  life  of  their  own  people  and 
state ;  that  as  they  are  to  be  hereafter  active 
citizens  of  the  German  Empire,  they  must  learn  its 
history  and  geography,  and  become  intimate  both 
with  these  and  with  the  history  and  geography  of 
the  rest  of  Europe.  Hence,  geography  in  the  Lower 
Fifth  is  the  proper  place  for  that  practical  instruction 
in  political  economy  which  belongs  properly  to  the 
middle  school.  At  this  point  should  be  stated  those 
economic  facts  which  have  characterized  European 
life,  not  merely  to-day  or  yesterday,  but  within  the 
last  hundred  years  or  earlier. 

It  is  in  this  sense  that  we  agree  with  the  new 
regulation  for  Prussian  and  other  classical  schools, 
which  lays  down  the  historical  period  for  the  Lower 
Fifth  as  consisting  of  German  and  European  history 
from  1740  to  1871,  with  a  short  chronicle  of  events 
until  1888.  It  is  in  view  of  these  considerations 
that  we  resign  ourselves  to  the  loss  of  the  two  years' 
course  in  ancient  history,  although  this  course  was 
a  very  effective  and  beneficial  influence,  for  the 
reason  that  the  interaction  of  thorough  historical 
study  and  thorough  linguistic  study  provided  active 
opposition  to  superficiality  and  to  breadth  without 
depth.  Much,  however,  as  we  may  despise  the  so- 
called  spirit  of  the  age,  we  must  none  the  less  accomo- 
date ourselves  to  certain  necessities  of  the  age,  and 
if   we   make   a   concession  for  intelligible  reasons, 


104         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

we  must  make  it  absolutely  and  without  reserva- 
tion. 

When  we  consider  the  special  historical  instruc- 
tion for  the  Lower  Fifth  according  to  the  Prussian 
organization  now  in  force  we  meet  with  a  remarkable 
difficulty  of  an  unexampled  nature — the  fact  that 
we  have  too  much  time  at  our  disposal.  For  the 
treatment  of  the  history  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
years  in  2  x  40  =  80  lessons  our  masters  are  neither 
prepared  nor  have  we  available  text-books,  though, 
as  may  easily  be  imagined,  some  of  these  latter 
have  been  put  on  the  market  in  a  hurry.* 

The  new  regulations  quietly  presuppose  that 
every  teacher  throughout  the  secondary  schools  of 
our  country  can  in  one  night  acquire  the  capacity 
assumed  by  the  official  syllabus,  including  a  know- 
ledge of  "  the  comparative  development  of  our 
social  and  economic  system."  In  my  opinion,  how- 
ever, it  will  be  as  difficult  for  most  teachers  as  it 
has  been  for  me  to  gain  a  clear  idea  of  complex  con- 
nexions and  of  the  depths  of  national  character  for 
the  purpose  of  Form  teaching.  Other  history  masters 
will  doubtless  have  experienced,  or  will  discover, 
that  the  more  detailed  the  narrative  winch  is  given 
to  a  Form  (and  in  this  case  detail  is  inevitable)  the 
more  difficult  is  its  treatment.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  a  conscientious  teacher  will  be  able  to  over- 
come these  difficulties,  and  that  they  will  be  con- 

*  Not  to  be  confused  with  the  better  and  more  carefully 
arranged  text-books — such,  for  instance,  as  that  for  Lower-Fifth 
instruction,  by  Moldenhauer,  Berlin,  189-4,  second  edition. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  105 

quered  in  many  instances  by  the  sole  means  at  the 
master's  disposal — his  own  powers  and  industry. 
In  any  case,  the  subject  will  be  brought  to  the 
attention  of  head-masters'  conferences.  Much  con- 
sideration will  be  devoted  to  the  theory,  and  some 
thirty,  sixty,  or  a  hundred  papers  written  upon  it  ; 
but  until  these  have  had  their  effect  we  who  have 
grown  old  in  this  business  may  be  allowed  to  put 
forth  some  simple  rules  for  younger  colleagues. 

1.  The  distribution  of  the  period  between  1740- 
1871  must  be  made  from  the  general  standpoint  of 
European  history,  not  from  that  of  German  or 
Prussian  history  as  such.  The  main  periods  will  thus 
be  1740-1789,  1789-1815,  1815-1871.  The  distribu- 
tion must  be  one  that  can  be  always  resumed  in 
lectures  to  the  Upper  Sixth. 

2.  An  introduction  is  advisable,  giving  a  clear 
survey  of  Brandenburg- Prussian  history,  as  a  part 
of  general  German  history.  This  need  be  no  more 
detailed  in  Prussian  schools  than  in  those  of  Saxony 
or  Wurtemberg,  and  the  same  is  true  vice  versa. 
As  it  is  part  of  German  history,  it  should  be  no 
shorter  in  the  schools  of  Saxony  or  Wurtemberg  than 
in  those  of  Prussia.* 

3.  Events,  characters,  and  descriptions  should  be 
handled  as  far  as  possible  consecutively,  upon  the 
Homeric  principle  ;  but  a  lesson  or  two  should  be 
devoted    before    beginning    the    period    1789-1815 

*  This  statement  now  seems  comparatively  obvious,  yet  at 
the  Berlin  Conference  of  1873  under  Falk  it  was  received  as  a 
new  and  acceptable  idea. 


106         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

to  the  condition  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire 
(Biedermann,  Deutschland  im  vorigen  JaJirhundert, 
vol.  i.). 

4.  There  should  be  no  strategical  descriptions 
of  battles,  but,  when  possible,  the  characteristic 
features  of  any  important  battle  should  be  men- 
tioned. Such  features  will  be  found,  for  instance, 
in  the  descriptions  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  in 
Carlyle's  Frederick  the  Great — a  very  useful  book 
for  the  teacher's  preparation,  and  a  book  that 
can  be  recommended  to  the  classical  school  teacher 
of  history,  together  with  the  classical  work  of 
Reinhold  Koser  (1903). 

5.  Special  care  should  be  taken  in  treating  of 
economic  and  social  influences  lest  the  teacher  be 
found  to  waste  his  time.  Most  of  these  develop- 
ments, and  also  the  services  of  individual  Prussian, 
and  other  rulers,  are,  and  always  have  been,  an 
integral  part  of  historical  instruction.  The  work 
of  the  Elector  Frederick  William  after  the  Thirty 
Years'  War,  of  Frederick  the  Great  after  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  of  Frederick  William  III.  by  the  reforms 
of  Stein-Hardenberg,  and  after  the  war  of  1813- 
1815,  in  organizing  and  introducing  the  Customs 
Union  in  their  own  country  and  in  Germany,  has 
never  undergone  revision.  It  is  to  be  supposed 
that  pupils  have  learnt  by  degrees,  in  their  passage 
from  the  Fifth  Form  to  the  Lower  Fifth,  what  is 
meant  by  the  terms  "money,"  "taxes,"  "burden  of 
taxation,"  "  domestic  economy,"  "  competition," 
"duties,"   "protective  duties,"  etc.;   what  a  Cus- 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  107 

toms  Union  is,  and  many  other  things  of  the  kind. 
As  regards,  however,  the  existing  conditions  of  the 
constitution  and  its  administration,  the  essential 
points,  together  with  the  so-called  science  of  civics, 
belong  to  the  geographical  lesson. 

6.  Treatment  in  this  case  should  be  unequal  in 
point  of  detail.  Some  points  should  be  fully  de- 
tailed, others  expounded  only  in  outline  by  means 
of  a  clearly  arranged  conspectus.  Thus,  the  events 
of  1813,  and  even  the  military  movements  of  that 
year,  are  to  be  fully  narrated,  because  they  com- 
bine every  element  which  can  make  historical  narra- 
tive impressive,  and  are  thus  easily  remembered. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  detailed  narrative  of  the  war 
between  1792  and  1801  would  be  waste  of  time. 

7.  Special  difficulties  are  offered  by  the  history  of 
the  period  from  1815  to  any  point  earlier  than  the 
present  date.  The  statement  is  especially  true  of 
the  section  from  1848  to  1852,  though  the  preceding 
sections — 1815-1830  and  1830-1848 — are  compara- 
tively simple,  and  can  be  shortly  explained.  None 
the  less,  those  four  years  contain  the  crisis  of  the 
century,  and,  as  we  have  time  at  our  disposal,  they 
should  be  treated  in  full  detail ,  the  more  so  as  in  the 
Sixth  Form,  where  the  time  is  very  short,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  rely  partly  upon  such  impressions  and 
recollections  as  may  remain  of  the  detailed  teaching 
in  the  Lower  Fifth.  On  the  other  hand,  the  period 
from  1852-1863  can  be  treated  with  brevity.  Only 
the  essential  points  need  be  emphasized — the  Crimean 
War,    the    Austro-French    War,    and   the   fruitless 


108  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

attempt  to  secure  German  unity.  Explanation 
should  be  given  of  the  extreme  danger  to  which  the 
nation  was  exposed,  and  its  almost  desperate  condi- 
tion, whether  real  or  apparent,  in  1863.  Adequate 
time  must  be  left  for  1863-1871;  1866  should  be 
carefully  treated,  the  central  idea  being  that  it  was 
better  for  our  nation  to  learn  the  nonentity  of  the 
old  German  Federal  Constitution  by  means  of  a  war 
of  the  new  Germany  against  the  old,  by  a  victory 
of  Prussia  over  Austria  and  Federal  Germany,  than 
by  the  victory  of  a  foreign  nation — France — over 
our  own.  These  are  events  but  forty  years  old,  yet 
they  have  lost  their  bitterness  for  Germany  through 
the  war  of  1870,  and  for  Austria  through  the  Alliance 
of  October  15,  1879,  and  through  the  fact  that  the 
intellectual  ties  between  the  Germans  of  the  Empire 
and  Austria  have  become  far  closer  than  previous 
to  1866. 

The  narrative  proper,  or  historical  lecture,  is  to 
end  with  1871  and  the  revival  of  German  nationalism. 
Times  change.  In  my  youth  the  door  was  closed 
with  1815,  and  the  master  was  not  supposed  to 
touch  upon  events  subsequent  to  that  boundary- 
line  ;  now  a  good  idea  is  pushed  to  exaggeration, 
and  we  are  to  continue  until  1888  or  to  the  present 
time.  The  present  time  means  the  very  moment 
at  which  we  are  speaking,  and  in  the  year  1895  the 
master  would  have  been  obliged  to  touch  upon  the 
war  between  China  and  Japan,  in  the  year  1900 
upon  the  Transvaal  War,  and  in  1904  upon  the 
Russo-Japanese  War,  etc.     It  is  impossible,  how- 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  109 

ever,  to  teach  everything  at  school,  and  facts  should 
not  be  taught  as  "  history  "  which  are  not  really 
history  for  the  teacher,  standing  as  he  does  amid 
the  confusion  of  contradictions,  and  are,  therefore, 
rather  unsuitable  matter  of  instruction  for  the 
pupils.  A  mere  chronicle  narrative  of  one  hour 
will  suffice.* 

As  regards  the  teacher's  lecture  and  its  style,  we 
propose  to  say  but  little  at  this  stage.  The  en- 
thusiasm inspired  by  the  subject-matter  can  no 
more  be  taught  than  personality  or  character.  The 
lecture  can  only  be  "  fine,"  if  it  is  true,  and  it  is 
only  true  when  it  is  the  expression  of  a  strong  and 
manly  character  inspired  by  faithful  devotion  to  the 
nation.  On  this  subject,  however,  we  have  much 
reason  for  cherishing  good  hopes.  At  the  present 
time  we  are  involved  in  a  great  public  life  ;  a 
merely  private  existence  is  no  longer  possible  to 
anyone,  and  certainly  not  to  the  history  master  at 
a  classical  or  modern  school.  Hence  something 
of  that  «£  uv.wv  -row  irpay/xaTcov  efts  which  Polybius 
demands  will  communicate  itself  by  degrees  to  our 
historical  teaching,  both  at  other  stages  and  at  this, 
where  in  a  certain  sense  it  is  most  necessary.     During 

*  Schiller's  Handbuch  des  praktischen  Pcidagogik,  second 
edition,  p.  562,  says  :  "  It  is  obvious  merely  from  the  events  of 
1888  that  modern  history  cannot  be  concluded  with  the  year 
1871  "  ;  this  is  a  somewhat  precipitate  mode  of  deciding  the 
question.  However  important  the  events  of  1888  may  be  they 
cannot  decide  the  question  whether  it  is  possible  or  advisable 
to  make  the  history  of  the  last  thirty  years  from  1871  a  subject 
of  regular  school  instruction. 


110  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

the  period  over  which  I  can  look  back  a  great  change 
has  already  taken  place  in  this  respect.  The  purely- 
professorial  tone  has  largely  died  out,  and  a  symptom 
of  the  change  is  the  fact  that  many  more  teachers 
are  able  to  lecture  "  extempore  "  than  in  the  time 
of  my  youth.  The  word  "  extempore  "  must  be  taken 
cum  grano  salts.  The  first  requirement  is  truth. 
Moreover,  at  the  stage  which  we  have  reached,  the 
lecture  or  commentary  must  be  marked  by  a  greater 
degree  of  consecutiveness,  and  no  objection  can, 
therefore,  be  raised  if  the  schoolmaster  follows  the 
example  of  great  orators  and  professors  by  writing 
notes  of  what  he  proposes  to  say,  and  using  his 
notes  as  he  speaks.  The  notes  may  extend  to  a 
notebook  if  he  wishes. 

Revision  will  obviously  proceed  as  before.  The 
matter  given  to  the  Form  in  any  one  lesson  will  be 
repeated  at  the  outset  of  the  following  lesson,  and 
when  a  section  of  the  period  has  been  worked  through 
the  whole  will  be  revised.  Another  method  which  has 
been  occasionally  used,  and  has  been  as  zealously 
recommended  as  it  has  been  vigorously  rejected,  is 
extempore  revision.  A  revival  of  this  method  seems 
probable  under  the  stimulus  of  the  new  Prussian 
syllabus,  with  its  remarks  upon  "  essays  in  brief." 
Against  the  use  of  this  method  there  will  be  little 
objection  to  urge  if  there  be  any  guarantee  what- 
ever that  its  very  considerable  difficulties  will  be 
invariably  handled  with  indulgence  and  discretion, 
ratione  modoque.  But  in  the  first  place  we  have 
not  the  time  at  our  disposal  or  the  constant  practice 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  111 

which  alone  could  make  such  methods  of  practical 
benefit ;  in  the  second  place,  the  pupil  is  afraid  of 
the  written  question,  which  may  refer  to  any  part 
of  the  whole  period  on  which  he  is  engaged.  He 
therefore  undertakes  those  special  revisions  on  his 
own  account  which  have  been  so  emphatically  and 
effectually  challenged,  and  with  considerable  reason, 
in  the  new  leaving  certificate  regulations  for  1892. 
If,  however,  there  is  time  at  any  point  for  the 
practice  of  these  essays  in  brief,  it  will  certainly  be 
found  here  in  the  Lower  Fifth.  Such  essays  should 
be  composed  in  Form,  and  a  capable  teacher  will 
see  that  the  pupils  thence  derive  such  scanty 
advantage  as  we  can  promise  from  the  practice. 
At  this  stage  another  problem  arises.  It  is  here 
for  the  first  time  that  the  pupil  can  take  notes  of 
the  teacher's  lecture,  such  notes  having  been  formerly 
simply  dictated.  The  question  is  further  extended 
by  the  growing  knowledge  of  shorthand.  It  affects 
the  instruction  throughout  these  upper  stages,  and 
this  subject  of  revision  most  particularly.  In  the 
junior  Forms  dictation  is  supported  by  excellent 
reasons,  but  in  the  case  of  pupils  who  have  reached 
the  Lower  Fifth  I  have  myself  extended  or  restricted 
the  practice  in  view  of  the  kind  of  revision  I  wished 
to  secure,  which  may  be  either  mechanical  repeti- 
tion or  may  disregard  chronology.  It  would  be 
inadvisable  to  dogmatize  upon  the  subject,  and 
much  may  be  left  to  the  master's  observation  and 
tact.  One  objection  urged  is  that,  when  a  pupil  is 
occupied  in  writing,  his  attention  is  less  close,  but 


112  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

no  great  stress  need  be  laid  upon  this.  The  lecture 
may  be  as  interesting,  as  lively,  or  as  perfect  as  is 
possible  within  the  compass  of  any  self-satisfied 
master,  but  boys  remain  boys.  At  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  or  at  eleven  o'clock,  or  wherever  the 
latest  perversion  of  pure  forenoon  instruction  has 
been  introduced,  it  will  be  found  during  the  fifth 
lesson — from  twelve  to  one — that  very  few  pupils 
are  able  to  follow  with  regular  or  concentrated 
attention  even  a  twenty-minutes  lecture.  Such 
note-taking  is  by  no  means  so  mechanical  as  is 
asserted,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  rejecting  a 
means  of  helping  the  attention  when  we  have  a  lene 
tormentum  conducted  by  the  pupil  himself. 

During  this  revision  from  lesson  to  lesson  we  shall 
often  meet  with  pupils  who  are  able  to  reproduce 
fluently  and  easily  the  matter  of  the  preceding 
lesson,  even  in  the  very  words  of  the  master.  Great 
stress  is  now  laid  upon  "  the  reproduction  of  narra- 
tive "  throughout  the  lower  forms,  and  the  Prussian 
syllabus  of  1892  concludes  its  "  observations  on 
method,"  as  regards  history,  with  the  words  :  "  Oral 
teaching  of  an  informal  nature  must  be  the  method 
specially  employed  in  historical  teaching."  In  1901 
we  are  delighted  to  see  that  this  statement  has  been 
replaced  by  the  more  modest  and  correct  opinion 
of  p.  49  :  "  In  historical  teaching  a  pupil  must  be 
practised  as  often  as  possible  in  the  power  of  re- 
peating what  he  has  learnt  in  his  own  words  and 
in  connected  narrative."  In  other  words,  the  pupil 
must  learn  the  art  of  expressing  liimself  when  he 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  113 

has  arrytking  to  say.  Here  the  historical  lesson  is 
especially  useful,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  is 
particularly  difficult  for  anyone  to  express  himself 
intelligibly  in  relating  historically  connected  events. 
For  that  special  reason  the  teacher  will  be  forced 
to  follow  a  mixed  method.  Difficult  parts  he  will 
have  repeated  by  question  and  answer,  and  when  a 
pupil  gives  a  narrative  of  the  easier  parts  of  a  sub- 
ject the  master  will  constantly  interrupt  him  to 
correct  an  expression,  to  refuse  a  meaningless  phrase, 
and  to  quicken  the  intelligence  by  a  question.  The 
informal  lecture,  as  such,  can  never  be  an  end  in 
itself,  nor  is  there  any  special  need  for  the  dis- 
semination of  the  practice,  seeing  that  the  capacity 
for  informal  lecturing  is  an  appalling  feature  of 
modern  society.  It  is  to  learn  history,  and  not  to 
learn  fluent  speech,  that  narrative  or  any  other 
informally  connected  account  is  given  by  the  scholar 
during  the  revision  hour. 

The  revision  of  larger  sections,  when  the  historical 
matter  is  reproduced  in  new  form  from  different 
points  of  view,  must  not  be  too  detailed,  although 
the  Prussian  syllabus  gives,  comparatively  speaking, 
abundant  time  to  the  Lower  Fifth  for  this  purpose. 
Revision  will  be  concerned,  not  with  the  detail  or 
the  narrative,  but  with  the  fundamental  facts,  the 
decisive  motives.  Similarly,  the  essential  thread  of 
historical  movement  will  be  revised  as  a  connected 
whole  by  question  and  answer,  with  the  object  of 
impressing  what  has  been  already  understood  upon 
the  memory.     The  section  of  the  text-book  under 

8 


114         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

treatment  will  be  prepared  at  home  by  the  pupils  if 
they  are  to  gain  the  full  benefit  of  this  revision  or  to 
take  part  in  it.  Such  revision  is  a  special  purpose  of 
the  text-book's  existence.  I  will  not  conceal  from 
my  younger  colleagues  that  I  consider  this  process 
of  revision  the  most  difficult  of  the  teacher's  tasks. 
His  art  is  here  more  particularly  displayed,  and 
very  few  can  congratulate  themselves  upon  entire 
success.  It  is  necessary  that  the  teacher  should 
first  have  a  clear  view  of  the  guiding  historical  idea, 
and  consequently  that  he  should  have  arranged  the 
matter  in  accordance  with  this  idea,  though  he  need 
not  forthwith  produce  Ins  arrangement  as  though 
it  was  something  of  special  value.  We  will  suppose 
that  the  section  from  1740-1789  has  been  taught  in 
detail,  and  that  the  master  has  convinced  himself 
from  hour  to  hour  that  individual  points  have  been 
properly  seized  and  understood.  This  period  can 
then  be  revised  from  the  standpoint  of  the  most 
important  reign  of  the  epoch — that  of  Frederick  the 
Great — and  such  revision  will  deal  : — 

1.  With  his  domestic  Government,  its  manner,  its 
Court  life,  those  about  him,  and  his  personal  ad- 
ministration, after  which  we  shall  proceed  to 
(a)  military  administration ;  (b)  finance  ;  (c)  ad- 
ministration of  the  country,  agriculture,  trade,  etc.  ; 
(d)  the  judicature ;  (e)  educational  efforts,  art,  and 
science. 

2.  His  relations  with  foreign  Powers  :  (a)  Austria  ; 
his  German  policy  in  this  connexion  ;  (6)  Russia  ; 
(c)  France ;  (d)  Great  Britain ;  (e)  Sweden,  etc. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  115 

I  do  not  believe  that  in  any  one  of  the  points  I 
have  proposed  there  need  be  any  material  difference 
between  the  instruction  at  the  classical  or  the 
modern  school.  I  have,  however,  had  no  recent 
experience  of  the  latter  schools,  and  do  not,  there- 
fore, press  my  opinion.  It  has  been  already 
observed  that  in  the  modern  school  great  stress 
must  be  laid  upon  historical  teaching.  Where 
places  in  Form  are  determined  by  the  addition 
of  the  marks  in  the  several  subjects,  and  where  the 
marks  carried  by  these  subjects  differ  in  amount, 
I  would  make  history  equivalent  to  English,  and 
would  take  the  subjects  for  essays  more  often  from 
the  historical  period  than  is  done  in  the  classical 
school.  In  the  revision  of  periods,  also,  many  more 
leading  ideas  will  be  followed  than  are  possible  in 
the  classical  school.  Of  these,  however,  we  cannot 
speak  to  any  purpose,  as  they  depend  upon  the 
general  character  of  the  material,  upon  its  special 
mode  of  treatment  in  the  modern  school,  and  upon 
the  views  of  the  teacher  entrusted  with  the  subject. 

One  further  point  may  be  mentioned  in  conclu- 
sion :  the  historical  sense  and  historical  knowledge 
can  be  largely  increased  by  home  reading.  Such 
reading  can  be  influenced  by  the  teacher  to  some 
extent,  especially  if  he  is  in  charge,  or  at  any  rate 
knows  the  contents,  of  the  school  library.  A  warn- 
ing, however,  must  be  given  that  this  influence  can 
be  exaggerated.  The  school — that  is  to  say,  the 
masters  of  it — must  not  attempt  to  rule  any  wider 
area  than  their  powers  can  comprehend.     To  speak 

8 — 2 


116         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

of  a  "  wisely  organized  and  guided  home  reading, 
and  its  blessings  under  the  influence  of  the  school," 
is  pure  Utopianism,  or,  to  put  the  matter  plainly, 
great  exaggeration.  The  teacher  may  offer  advice 
when  his  advice  is  asked,  and  also  when  it  is  not, 
if  he  thinks  advisable  ;  otherwise,  entire  freedom 
must  be  given,  and  historical  books  must  not  be 
forced  upon  a  pupil  who  would  prefer  to  read 
scientific  or  geographical  books.  The  library  must 
contain  good  literature.  Archenholz,  Treitschke, 
Hausser,  etc.,  must  be  at  hand,  and  the  master  can 
now  and  then  let  fall  a  word  of  praise  and  recom- 
mendation in  this  direction.  Such  words  will  be 
remembered  by  the  pupils  whose  interests  have 
been  won  to  the  study  of  history.  Anything  further 
is  unnecessary.* 

At  this  point  we  should  perhaps  say  a  word  of 
the  many  subordinate  stimuli  to  historical  teaching, 
such  as  historical  pictures,  representations  of  dress, 
visits  to  museums  or  to  libraries  and  archives.  In  the 
previously  mentioned  book  by  J.  Collard,  p.  404  ff., 

*  When  in  charge  of  a  school  library  I  was  struck  by  the 
preference  of  the  elder  Forms  for  the  historical  novel.  Inquiries 
were  constantly  made  for  Ebers,  Felix  Dahn,  Freytag,  Willibald 
Alexis,  and  even  Walter  Scott.  To  the  latter  I  had  no  objection 
to  urge,  but  such  books  as  Dahn's  Kampf  um  Rom  aroused  serious 
misgivings  as  to  whether  the  historical  sense  was  not  greatly 
damaged  by  such  exaggerated  descriptions,  apart  from  other  losses 
incurred.  But  history  cannot  be  learnt  from  novels,  though 
foolish  amateurism  has  sometimes  urged  the  contrary,  and  this 
is  a  fact  which  we  need  not  be  told,  though  we  must  sometimes 
repeat  it  to  our  pupils. 


INTERMEDIATE  STAGE  117 

the  question  is  exhaustively  explained  in  the 
chapter,  "  Le  nioyen  age  etudie  par  les  monuments 
de  Lou  vain."  Something  of  the  kind  may  also  be 
found  in  German  writings,  and  people  will  be 
always  ready  to  advise  historical  excursions  in 
addition  to  those  devoted  to  geography  and  natural 
science.  This  has  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  our 
present  purpose,  dependent  as  it  is  entirely  upon 
the  locality,  the  time,  and  the  individuality  of  the 
master.  The  study  of  local  history,  the  concentra- 
tion of  general  history  upon  Cologne  or  Dantzig, 
or  upon  the  landscape  of  the  home,  may  prove 
stimulating,  and  deserves  consideration  in  any  dis- 
cussion of  the  problems  of  historical  teaching.  At 
the  same  time,  a  warning  must  be  uttered  that  too 
much  value  should  not  be  placed  upon  these  matters, 
as  the  pupiN  of  our  secondary  schools  are  not  yet 
prepared  to  use  them  correctly,  but  are  undergoing 
such  preparation. 


Ill 

THE  HIGHER  STAGES 

Upper  Fifth,  Lower  Sixth,  and  Upper  Sixth. 

Thus  we  reach  the  turning-point  which  was  so 
strongly  marked  in  1892  by  the  new  Prussian  regula- 
tions that  an  inclination  arose  to  regard  the  Lower 
Fifth,  when  they  had  completed  their  course  as  a 
"  point  of  divergence,"  where  a  decision  would  be 
definitely  taken  as  to  which  boys  would  or  could 
profit  by  the  continuation  of  their  studies ;  it  was 
supposed  that  anyone  who  went  through  the  lower 
leaving  certificate  after  eighteen  months  or  two 
years  in  the  Lower  Fifth  would  come  to  a  stand- 
still, and  apply  his  energies  to  some  form  of  practical 
life.  The  expectation  realized  in  the  case  of  the 
Realgymnasien  that  some  good  and  nearly  all  the 
bad  pupils  would  leave  from  the  Lower  Fifth,  and 
that  only  a  chosen  few  would  remain,  has  not  been 
fulfilled,  the  less  so  as  the  higher  leaving  certificate 
examination  was  made  considerably  easier  at  that 
time.  The  general  character  of  the  Upper  Fifth, 
and  consequently  of  the  concluding  stages  of  the 
German   secondary  school,   will  remain  unaltered. 

118 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  119 

The  intellectual  level  of  these  upper  stages  will  be 
somewhat  lower  than  previously,  for  the  reason  that 
the  whole  syllabus  up  to  and  including  the  Lower 
Fifth  has  been  arranged  with  undue  prominence  to 
lead  up  to  that  Form  at  which  school  studies  were 
supposed  to  end  ;  also  because  the  supposition  has 
been  unfulfilled  that  the  master  would  be  concerned 
during  the  three  following  years  with  a  smaller 
number  of  relatively  more  capable  pupils.  It  would 
be  advisable  for  the  history  teacher  to  renounce 
any  illusions  in  this  direction. 

According  to  the  present  organization  in  most 
German  secondary  schools,  the  Upper  Fifth  begin 
the  second  progress  through  the  wide  field  of 
history — a  process  which  ought  to  produce  the 
same  effects  as  a  second  reading  of  a  Bill  in  Parlia- 
ment. A  third  reading,  decisive  in  its  effects,  and 
concluding  historical  education  at  school,  does  not 
exist.  Attempts  of  the  kind,  general  revisions,  and 
the  like,  are  failures  simply  for  want  of  time.  A 
number  of  those  who  leave  school  for  the  University, 
apart  from  those  who  make  a  speciality  of  history, 
will  perhaps  attend  some  historical  lectures.  A  not 
inconsiderable  number  will  attempt  to  complete 
their  historical  training  by  reading  historical  works, 
as  may  be  concluded  from  the  fact  that  important 
works  of  a  general  historical  character  enjoy  a  con- 
siderable sale.  Some  progress  in  this  respect  seems 
to  be  marked  by  such  a  fact,  for  instance,  as  the 
sale  of  that  admirable  historical  work,  Schlosser's 
Universalhistorische  Ubersicht  der  Geschichte  der  alien 


120         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Welt  und  ihre  Kultur  (1826),  which  has  never  reached 
a  second  edition,  while  at  the  present  time  such 
excellent  works  as  the  Greek  history  of  Max  Duncker, 
which  is  also  in  nine  volumes,  and  does  not  exhaust 
the  subject,  or  Friedlander's  descriptions  of  Roman 
social  life,  have  gone  through  five  editions  between 
1862  and  1881,  though  they  are  no  less  seriously  scien- 
tific than  the  work  of  Schlosser.  Similar  examples 
may  be  produced  in  considerable  number.  Hence  the 
much-abused  secondary  schoolmaster  who  teaches 
history  may  console  himself  with  the  consideration 
that  modern  wisdom  has  not  so  entirely  renounced 
antiquity  and  the  past  in  favour  of  the  present  as 
many  assert. 

We  have  first  to  consider  what  contribution  other 
subjects  of  instruction  make  towards  historical  train- 
ing, and  then  to  consider  how  these  influences  can  be 
stimulated  and  organized  in  historical  instruction 
proper. 

Upper  Fifth. 

Religious  instruction  is  highly  important,  and 
acquires,  indeed,  new  importance,  throughout  these 
higher  stages,  and  therefore  in  the  Upper  Fifth.  Tins 
influence  is  twofold  :  it  strengthens,  deepens,  and 
clarifies  the  moral  and  religious  theories  of  mankind, 
and  his  destiny,  winch  alone,  as  we  have  seen,  enable 
us  with  any  profit  to  regard  human  affairs  from  a 
historical  standpoint.  It  also  brings  to  the  pupil's 
notice  a  most  valuable  collection  of  original  historical 
records,    even   when   regarded  from   the   historical 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  121 

standpoint  alone.  These  two  influences  are  exerted 
in  a  manner  corresponding  with  the  greater  develop- 
ment of  the  pupils,  in  a  manner  that  is  entirely 
scientific.  With  this  subject  of  instruction  the  his- 
torical teacher  should  feel  himself  in  sympathy,  an 
attitude  which  is  rare,  even  though  it  is  by  no  means 
difficult — at  any  rate,  in  Evangelical  institutions. 
In  the  historical  seminaries  of  our  Universities 
nothing  of  the  kind  is  to  be  expected.  The  time 
seems  past  when  the  great  historical  teacher,  Nie- 
buhr,  could  honestly  refer  to  the  providence  of  God 
when  lecturing  upon  the  sources  of  Roman  history.* 
Next  to  the  study  of  divinity,  that  of  German 
literature  exerts  a  strong  influence  upon  historical 
knowledge  in  its  wider  sense.  Philip  Wackernagel, 
in  the  fourth  part  of  his  German  reading-book, 
asserts  the  necessity  of  providing  an  introduction 
to  the  German  national  literature — a  task  incum- 
bent upon  the  teaching  given  from  the  First  Form 
to  the  Sixth,  and  very  simple  when  thus  formulated, 
though  in  reality  a  very  complex  and  comprehensive 
task.  Historical  influences  thus  become  operative, 
and  it  is  clear  that  their  strength  may  be  great  when 
the  traditional  practice  is  followed,  which  is  also 
observed  in  the  new  Prussian  and  Saxon  schemes, 
of  reading  some  Middle  High  German  in  the  Upper 
Fifth,  and  thus  going  deep  into  the  past  of  our 
nationality.  The  existing  Prussian  syllabus  does  not 
lay  down  any  special  course  of  German  literature 
for  the  upper  Forms.     It  is  obvious  that  the  Upper 

*   Vortesungen  iiber  rumische  GeschicMe,  Ed.  Isler,  I.  75. 


122  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Fifth  is  the  right  place  for  Middle  High  German. 
Its  introduction  here  is  justified  by  the  fact  that  no 
history  or  literature  in  the  true  sense  is  studied  in  the 
upper  stages,  but  that  a  historical  order  is  generally 
observed  throughout  the  literary  studies.  This  his- 
torical influence  also  belongs  to  language,  when 
the  pupil  learns  to  know  the  Nibelungen,  Kudrun, 
Walter,  etc.,  from  the  language  they  spoke,  not  from 
translations.  The  fact  is  so  entirely  obvious  that 
it  has  been  invariably  recognized  except  in  one 
official  scheme  (1882-1892),  which,  as  everybody 
knows,  was  ruined  by  the  co-operation  of  "  too  many 
cooks."  The  Prussian  syllabus  of  1892,  while  per- 
mitting the  study  of  Homer  in  the  original  text, 
prohibited  the  reading  of  the  Nibelungen  in  the 
primitive  German,  or  the  use  of  this  German  as  the 
foundation  of  instruction.  Here  we  have  an  incon- 
sistency that  is  practically  repeated  in  the  new 
syllabus.  At  the  present  time  German  is  made 
"  the  central  point  of  school  instruction  ;"  at  the 
present  time,  also,  the  forces  of  the  science  of 
phonetics  are  being  called  in  to  secure  the  utmost 
perfection  in  the  study  of  French  ;  yet,  strangely 
enough,  our  German  youth,  consisting  chiefly  of  the 
sons  of  the  upper  classes,  who  will  claim  to  take 
their  place  in  those  classes  in  the  future,  are  allowed 
to  secure  only  the  most  superficial  acquaintance  with 
their  own  language  in  its  earlier  stages :  "Introduc- 
tion to  the  Nibelungenlied,  with  extracts  from  the 
original  text,  which  are  to  be  read  and  explained 
by  the  master."     For  our  historical  point  of  view 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  123 

it  becomes  obvious  that  the  pupils  of  our  schools 
and  of  other  institutions  of  equal  value,  though  dis- 
similar organization,  do  not  merely  listen  to  the 
master's  explanation,  but  read  the  text  for  them- 
selves, and  secure  some  close  acquaintance  with  it. 
We  hold  no  brief  on  behalf  of  Middle  High  German 
or  Old  High  German ;  we  are  unable  to  countenance 
the  terminology  which  speaks  of  the  second  classical 
period  in  our  national  literature — a  phrase,  we 
believe,  originating  with  Vilmar.  But  some  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  the  old  and  simple  German 
language  we  do  unconditionally  require  for  all  our 
higher  schools — for  the  modern  high  school,  where 
no  Latin  is  learnt,  as  well  as  for  the  classical  school. 
Such  study  is  indispensable  as  introductory  to  the 
first-hand  records  of  the  historical  life  of  our  people. 
More  than  this  we  do  not  ask.  Breadth  of  view  and 
deeper  understanding  of  human  life,  whether  con- 
temporary or  historical,  may  be  gained  by  the  con- 
tinuation or  resumption  of  Schiller's  and  Goethe's 
Gedankenlyrik.  Thus,  here  also  there  is  no  immediate 
connexion  between  the  two  subjects — German  litera- 
ture and  German  history.  In  essay-writing,  how- 
ever, the  pupil  may  well  find  occasion  to  use  the 
material  he  has  gathered  from  his  history  lessons. 

French  comes  but  little  into  connexion  with  the 
historical  instruction,  though  historical  French  prose 
is  often  read  to  excellent  purpose  in  the  Upper  Sixth 
— for  instance,  the  Egyptian  campaign  of  Bonaparte 
in  the  narrative  of  Thiers,  which  has  many  times 
been  edited  for  school  purposes.     Here  we  have  a 


124         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

simple  means  of  introducing  the  pupil  to  the  strange 
world  of  modern  Orientalism,  and  to  European 
politics  as  a  whole.  Of  these  subjects  he  would 
otherwise  know  nothing,  and  yet  they  are  most 
admirably  calculated  to  extend  his  line  of  vision. 
Apart  from  such  cases  as  this,  French  in  secondary 
schools  is  valuable  chiefly  for  itself.  In  the  classical 
schools  it  is  especially  valuable  as  providing  the 
pupil  with  a  means  for  reading  French  works  dealing 
with  the  special  subject  winch  he  may  choose  to 
pursue  at  the  University  or  in  after-life.  The  study 
of  English,  which  begins  in  this  Form,  though  in  a 
classical  school  a  choice  is  allowed,  subserves  the 
same  practical  purpose,  though  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  the  learning  of  every  new  language  opens 
a  new  horizon  ;  and  the  fact  is  also  true  of  Hebrew, 
which  some  few  pupils  begin  at  this  stage. 

As  regards  Latin  and  Greek,  the  reading  of  his- 
torical records  proceeds  for  the  immediate  purpose 
of  linguistic  practice,  and  the  Prussian  syllabus  of 
1882  went  so  far  as  to  appoint  for  reading  "  Livy 
and  Sallust,  with  special  reference  to  their  history." 
We  do  not  quite  understand  what  ideas  underlie 
this  regulation,  winch  has  often  been  repeated  in 
similar  terms,  or  whether  similar  ideas  inspired  the 
paragraph  of  the  syllabus  of  1901,  p.  31  :  "  A  point 
of  view  hitherto  constantly  neglected,  and  yet  im- 
portant for  the  interaction  of  related  studies,  is 
the  possibility  of  narrowing  the  connexion  between 
the  reading  of  Latin  prose  authors  and  the  histori- 
cal teaching  of  a  Form."      For   our  own  part,  we 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  125 

desire  no  special  consideration  for  historical  teach- 
ing. It  may,  indeed,  be  said  that  the  reading  of  the 
first  book  of  Livy,  with  its  popular  traditions  related 
in  sympathetic  and  poetic  language,  would  enable 
the  history  teacher  to  dismiss  the  Roman  Kings  very 
shortly,  though  this  is  a  mode  of  procedure  necessary 
in  any  case.  It  would,  however,  be  entirely  erroneous 
to  treat  such  a  subject  as  the  second  Punic  War  more 
summarily  in  the  history  lesson  merely  because  the 
pupil  had  read  some  part  of  it  in  his  Livy.  When 
we  say  that  to  read  the  classical  historians  is  to  read 
historical  sources,  we  imply  that  such  close  study  of 
the  text  as  is  necessary  for  translation  brings  the 
reader  back  to  the  past  as  represented  by  these 
authors,  and  this  is  a  possibility  of  very  rare  occur- 
rence in  historical  teaching  proper,  owing  simply  to 
want  of  time,  nor  can  it  ever  be  so  intensive.  It  is 
also  highly  important  that  when  the  pupil  reads 
Csesar,  Xenophon,  Thiers,  Macaulay,  Livy,  and 
Sallust,  he  should  by  degrees  secure,  and  be  able 
to  reproduce,  some  conception  of  the  different  kinds 
of  history.  The  matter  that  is  read  is,  however,  of 
greater  importance.  All  reading  of  Greek  and  Latin 
literature  in  the  Upper  Fifth  stimulates  historical 
study  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  brings  us  into  a 
definitely  historical  environment  and  atmosphere. 
The  fact  is  especially  true  of  Cicero's  speeches,  which- 
ever of  them  may  be  assumed  as  generally  read  in 
this  Form.  They  introduce  the  reader  to  critical 
points  in  the  life  of  a  great  statesman,  as  in  the 
speeches  against  Catiline.     Such  a  speech  as  the  Pro 


126         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Roscio  Afnerino  displays  the  conditions  of  Italian 
agriculture  and  of  Italian  country  towns  in  the  first 
century  B.C.,  and  thus  enables  us  to  understand,  and, 
what  is  still  better  for  the  youthful  historian,  to 
realize  how  individual  happiness  or  misfortune  may 
be  affected  by  great  historical  events  and  changes. 
The  fact  is  naturally  no  less  true  of  the  Greek 
authors — the  Hellenica  or  the  Memorabilia  or  the 
selected  speeches  of  Lysias.  Everywhere  there  is 
a  historical  background,  and  we  might  almost  say 
that  the  speech  is  more  valuable  to  us  in  proportion 
as  the  importance  of  the  person  concerned  diminishes, 
whether  it  be  Sextus  Roscius,  or  Agoratus,  or  the 
Invalid  of  the  twenty-fourth  oration  of  Lysias.  As 
a  stimulus  to  the  true  historical  sense  it  is  most 
desirable  that  the  pupil  should  understand  that 
history  is  not  merely  the  history  of  the  upper  ten 
thousand,  but  the  history  of  the  hundred  thousand 
or  the  million — in  short,  of  the  whole  nation.  We 
have  attempted  elsewhere*  to  reconstruct  the 
history  of  a  slave  in  Asia  Minor  at  the  time  of  the 
Peloponnesian  War  on  the  basis  of  a  phrase  in  the 
ninth  book  of  Xenophon's  Anabasis.  We  would 
undertake  to  sketch  a  series  of  such  portraits  of  the 
lower  classes,  drawn  from  classical  literature  from 
the  time  of  Homer  to  Horace  or  the  younger  Pliny. 
Every  teacher  who  approaches  the  subject  from  this 
point  of  view  can  discover  an  infinite  number  of 
similar  examples  which  provide  a  very  simple  and 
yet  a  very  effective  means  of  making  the  study 

*  Pro  domo,  p.  136  ff. 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  127 

interesting,  or,  to  use  the  proper  term,  beneficial — 
beneficial,  that  is,  in  the  sense  of  the  truly  historical 
phrase,  Nihil  humani  a  me  alienum  puto.  It  is  possible 
in  the  Third  and  Fourth  Forms,  and  much  more  so  in 
the  Upper  Fifth  and  Sixth,  at  which  point  we  shall 
have  to  recur  to  the  subject  when  we  mention  Horace. 
Finally,  as  regards  geography,  it  will  be  assigned, 
like  mathematics,  to  the  upper  branches  of  physics, 
the  remaining  parts  of  the  subject  being  known  as 
applied  geography,  and  thus  directly  entering  the 
scheme  of  historical  instruction.  Tins  is  not  the 
idea  of  the  Prussian  syllabus  or  of  the  Utopian 
arrangement,  which  requires  for  the  upper  stages  at 
least  six  revisions  of  geography  in  every  half-year, 
and  also  history  "  to  the  present  time,"  for  the 
Sixth  Form,  "  other  geographical  revision  to  be 
undertaken  as  may  be  required."  We  shall  not 
interpret  these  phrases  as  implying  formal  geo- 
graphical revision.  Whenever  history  is  taught, 
the  master  should  state  accurately  the  locality  of 
the  events  discussed,  and  thus  secure  that  these 
localities,  rivers,  mountains,  and  towns  are  not  mere 
collocations  of  letters,  as  they  were  in  the  days  of 
my  youth,  and  as  they  probably  still  are  in  many 
cases.  Natural  as  this  connexion  between  geography 
and  history  is,  every  one  of  experience  knows  that 
it  has  been  little  practised,  and  has,  therefore,  pro- 
duced little  result  ;  yet  it  is  a  method  which,  when 
conjoined  with  accurate  dating — another  constantly 
neglected  factor — can  alone  give  that  precision  and 
certainty  which  historical  lectures  require. 


128         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  history  instruction  proper  in  the  upper  stage 
— the  second  perusal  of  the  great  book  of  history — 
falls  within  a  three-years  course  of  three  lessons  a 
week.  The  first  year  in  the  Upper  Fifth  is  naturally 
given  to  ancient  history,  Greek  and  Roman  history 
to  the  fall  of  the  West  Roman  Empire. 

We  have  seen  that  ancient  history  for  two  lessons 
a  week  was  previously  assigned  to  two  Forms — 
Greek  to  the  Lower  Fifth,  and  Roman  to  the  Upper 
Fifth — an  arrangement  which  made  it  possible  to 
find  some  time  for  the  early  history  of  the  East. 
This  two-years  course  of  ancient  history  was  highly 
beneficial  at  this  particular  stage,  as  arranged  by 
the  old  Prussian  syllabus,  and,  as  we  have  men- 
tioned, we  can  well  understand  the  regret  which 
many  feel,  and  which  we  share,  for  that  syllabus. 
The  study  of  ancient  hi  story  and  of  classical  litera- 
ture proved  beneficial  to  either  branch.  There  was 
a  comparatively  full  and  accurate  knowledge  of 
history  within  definite  limits,  while  historical  ideas 
applicable  to  any  other  period  were  gained.  More- 
over, a  competent  teacher  could  make  the  most 
admirable  use  of  this  subject-matter  in  the  Sixth 
Form  by  discussions  upon  essays,  treatment  from 
special  standpoints,  etc.  As  things  are,  however, 
we  cannot  help  ourselves,  and  complaint  is  useless.* 
We  must,  therefore,  remodel  our  organization. 

*  We  can  understand  the  indignation  of  those  monomaniacs 
among  us  who  wish  to  restore  the  classical  school  in  its  old 
purity,  including  Latin  composition,  and  are  desirous  to  unite 
for  the  purpose  of  recapturing,  on  behalf  of  the  classical  school, 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  129 

In  the  first  place,  we  must  gain  an  accurate  com- 
prehension of  the  historical  matter  for  study.  Un- 
fortunately, our  text-books  are  by  no  means  adequate 
for  this  purpose,  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  pre- 
mature reforms  in  Prussia  have  thrown  text-books 
into  so  chaotic  a  condition  that  it  will  be  long  before 
order  is  secured — we  mean  real  order,  and  not  pro- 
gramme arrangement.  The  new  text-books  have 
been  manufactured  somewhat  too  hastily  to  inspire 
us  with  confidence,  while  the  older  text-books,  such 


the  positions  that  have  been  lost.  We  doubt  the  correctness  of 
this  point  of  view.  History  as  such  would  not  be  greatly  bene- 
fited even  if  the  old  conditions  were  restored.  It  would  be 
necessary  to  secure  that  the  old  amount  of  time  should  once 
more  be  given  to  the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek.  This  is  the 
weakest  point  of  the  new  regulations,  and  it  is  already  obvious 
that  the  precipitous  descent  upon  which  we  have  entered  cannot 
be  continued.  It  may  be  true  that  nine  years'  study  of  the 
Latin  and  Greek  languages  and  antiquities  forms  the  backbone 
of  classical  school  education  ;  in  that  case  the  backbone  should 
be  strengthened,  and  it  is  ridiculous  to  reduce  the  time  to  seven 
hours  in  the  Third  and  Fourth,  and  to  six  hours  in  the  Fifth  and 
Sixth.  On  the  other  hand,  the  proposition  may  be  false ;  in  that 
case  some  other  object  of  study  should  be  made  the  backbone 
and  should  be  provided  with  an  adequate  number  of  hours. 
But  no  other  study  has  as  yet  been  found.  This  note  is  repeated 
from  our  first  edition  (1895);  since  that  date  there  has  been 
an  improvement,  and  the  Third  and  Fourth  Forms  have  been 
given  eight  hours  for  Latin,  while  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  have 
seven.  If  the  eight  hours  of  Latin  were  restored  to  the  Lower 
Fifth  in  Prussia,  this  being  the  Form  where  the  pupil  begins  to 
enjoy  the  reading  of  Latin,  we  should  be  entirely  satisfied  with 
the  present  syllabus  for  the  Upper  Fifth,  considered  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  history  teacher. 

9 


130         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

as  that  of  Herbst,  are  attempting  to  meet  necessities 
by  reducing  their  length.  But  no  editorial  skill  can 
entirely  overcome  the  original  arrangement.  Hence, 
a  solution  of  the  difficulty  has  been  found  in  some 
places  which  is  by  no  means  to  be  rejected.  The 
Third-Form  books,  which  were  intended  for  one  year, 
are  brought  out  again.  They,  at  any  rate,  give  the 
master  necessary  facts,  and  these  are  supplemented 
and  remodelled  as  far  as  this  task  is  possible  from 
the  standpoint  of  higher  instruction.  In  any  case, 
one  caution  must  be  given  that  is  even  more  neces- 
sary than  it  was  in  dealing  with  the  Third  Form, 
where  the  danger  is  obvious — detailed  treatment 
must  be  avoided  of  periods  for  which  we  are  more 
or  less  reduced  to  hypotheses.  For  a  long  time  it 
seems  to  have  been  fashionable  to  treat  in  full 
detail  such  subjects  as  the  earlier  periods  of  Roman 
history,  the  struggle  of  the  classes  with  full  legisla- 
tive details,  the  struggles  with  the  Italici  in  the 
three  Samnite  Wars,  etc.  It  will,  however,  be 
possible  to  treat  the  period  before  Solon  and  the 
first  period  of  Roman  history  until  the  struggle  with 
Carthage  even  more  briefly  than  in  teaching  middle 
or  lower  Forms ;  while  the  necessity  of  working 
through  the  period  in  a  scanty  allowance  of  time 
will  prove  a  sufficiently  strong  influence — a  /3/ato? 
hthdaKokoi,  as  Thucydides  said  of  war — obliging  the 
master  to  renounce  his  special  hobbies.  Among 
these  the  artistic  hobby  is  prominent  at  this  moment 
— the  archaeological  interest  which  now  seems 
dominant  among  our  leading  classes,  and  demands 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  131 

with  some  vigour  the  numerous  and  splendid  objects 
and  illustrations  required  for  this  purpose.  This  is 
one  of  the  many  excellent  things  that  depend 
entirely  upon  favourable  circumstances — the  number 
of  the  pupils,  the  personality  of  the  master,  the 
endowment  of  the  school,  etc. — and  upon  which 
it  is  thus  impossible  to  dogmatize  from  the  educa- 
tional point  of  view.  Some  thoughtful  observations 
were  made  upon  the  point  in  1892  at  the  first  general 
meeting  of  the  Bavarian  Secondary  Schoolmasters' 
Union  by  Rector  Lechner,  of  Nuremberg  :  "  How 
far  can  the  plastic  arts  of  antiquity  be  made  a  subject 
of  school  instruction  ?"  (Freising,  1892).  Professor 
Ludwig  von  Sybel  has  recently  referred  to  the  point 
in  Marburg  (1904).  Upon  the  whole,  we  should 
advise  teachers  not  to  overestimate  the  apprecia- 
tion of  an  Upper-Fifth  Form  for  artistic  beauty. 

At  this  point  perhaps  we  should  say  a  word  upon 
the  use  of  these  so-called  objective  methods,  winch 
in  certain  cases  seem  likely  to  degenerate  into  actual 
picture- worship.  We  remember  a  very  true  saying 
of  Goethe  preserved  in  the  life  of  General  Friedrich 
von  Gagern  by  Heinrich  von  Gagern  :  "I  hate 
luxury,  for  it  destroys  imagination."  In  our  own 
subject  especially,  an  abuse  of  these  objective 
methods  tends  to  stunt  the  development  of  that 
imagination  which  is  most  important  in  historical 
teaching.  Considerable  concentration  is  required 
to  comprehend  historical  facts,  and  pictures  may 
easily  become  a  distraction,  as  the  immature  mind 
seizes,  not  the  whole,  but  some  individual  point  by 

9—2 


132  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

which  it  is  attracted,  or  which  it  abstracts  for  itself. 
In  home  reading  the  case  is  somewhat  different, 
though  if  a  historical  book  is  intended  to  have  an 
educative  effect  its  illustrations  must  keep  a  strictly 
historical  character,  and  not  be  mere  products  of 
the  artist's  imagination.  In  the  reading,  too,  of 
classical  texts  we  can  admit  the  method  to  a  certain 
extent ;  but  while  teaching  we  object  to  the  in- 
sertion of  historical  portraits  or  anything  of  the 
kind  in  school  texts  at  this  or  any  other  stage. 
Historical  instruction  has  a  great  burden  to  bear, 
and  obviously  contains  within  itself  the  influ- 
ences which  have  stimulated  artistic  progress  or 
civilization  ;  but  it  cannot  at  the  same  time  become 
a  history  of  art  or  civilization  without  losing  all 
definition  and  overflowing  all  its  bounds. 

At  this  point,  however — and  we  are  dealing  with 
boys  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age — we  may 
or  must  use  the  means  of  increasing  the  scanty  time 
at  our  disposal,  even  though  it  is  a  means  not  entirely 
within  our  powers  or  so  wholly  subject  to  our  will  as 
instruction  proper.  We  refer  to  the  question  of  home 
reading.  When  the  history  teacher  is  confronted  by 
an  enormous  mass  of  matter  for  treatment  within  a 
scanty  period  of  time  it  is  not  unreasonable  that  he 
should  ask  his  boys  to  read  a  good  book  of  Greek  or 
Roman  history  for  themselves  at  home.  Here  we  may 
assert  emphatically  that  the  business  of  the  classical 
school  is  to  teach  the  pupils  to  work  for  themselves  ; 
to  teach  the  boy  to  grapple  with  his  own  tasks, 
which  will  include  the  capacity  of  reading  an  intel- 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  133 

ligible  book  upon  some  subject  in  connexion  with 
his  school-work.  This  stimulus  to  historical  reading 
seems  to  us  to  be  specially  important  in  the  case  of 
the  upper  pupils  in  our  modern  schools,  as  many  of 
them  may  thereby  gain  an  intellectual  interest  and 
a  desire  for  further  culture  lasting  through  life. 
Among  the  many  good  things  which  a  teacher  can 
do  quietly,  without  writing  treatises  or  articles  upon 
the  subject  in  educational  papers,  is  this  work  of 
inspiring  some  part  of  his  pupils  with  an  enduring 
taste  for  good  historical  reading. 

As  regards  lecturing  to  the  Form,  we  think  that 
there  will  be  no  material  difference  between  the 
mode  of  treatment  employed  in  the  classical  school 
and  in  the  corresponding  classes  of  the  modern 
school  or  modern  high  school.  In  the  case  of  the 
classical  school  the  earlier  and  continued  reading  of 
historical  sources  will  direct  the  teaching  into  certain 
lines.  It  may,  for  instance,  be  the  political  history 
that  becomes  prominent.  While  this  fact  facilitates 
teaching  from  one  point  of  view,  it  increases  diffi- 
culties from  another.  On  the  one  hand,  this  period 
of  history  is  already  known  to  the  classical  school 
pupils  to  some  extent — better,  in  fact,  than  any 
other — for  the  reason  that  they  have  not  merely 
heard  of  the  country  and  the  period  when  these 
things  happened,  but  have  to  some  extent  them- 
selves lived  in  that  country  and  that  time ;  on  the 
other  hand,  a  difficulty  arises  because  the  teacher 
is  constantly  tempted  to  expatiate  upon  this  subject, 
with  which  he  also  is  more  familiar.     To  the  pupils 


134         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

of  the  modern  school  Greek  and  Roman  history 
should  be  treated  as  portions  of  the  world's  history, 
of  immense  interest  and  importance  as  being  the 
foundation  of  that  Western  culture  which  is  based 
on  freedom,  but  no  attempt  should  be  made  to 
inspire  them  with  that  special  interest  which 
naturally  presupposes  such  an  examination  of  first- 
hand authorities  as  only  the  classical  scholar  can 
make.  On  this  subject  much  has  been  said  con- 
cerning the  reading  or  reading  aloud  of  classical 
translations  of  Homer,  Sophocles,  and  Virgil.  We 
cannot  speak  from  experience,  but  are  strongly 
inclined  to  doubt  the  effectiveness  of  such  reading. 

At  this  higher  stage,  and  therefore  throughout 
the  Upper-Fifth  course,  the  preparation  of  his  lessons 
will  make  considerable  demands  upon  the  teacher, 
or,  rather,  he  should  make  considerable  demands 
upon  his  own  powers.  We  do  not  refer  to  the  so- 
called  informal  lecture  of  which  we  have  previously 
treated,  and  which  is  here  assumed  throughout  the 
upper-school  teaching.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that 
the  history  teacher  has  to  deal  with  a  difficult  and 
complicated  subject,  not  easy  of  exposition — for 
example,  the  circumstances  which  ended  in  the 
reforms  of  the  Gracchi  or  in  the  French  Revolution  ; 
suppose,  again,  that  he  wished  to  speak  for  thirty 
or  forty  minutes  with  nothing  to  guide  or  support 
his  memory,  he  is  reduced  either  to  simply  para- 
phrasing the  text-book  or  is  asked  to  perform  a  feat 
impossible  to  such  famous  teachers  of  history  as 
Ranke,  von  Sybel,  Fr.  Raumer,  and  Max  Duncker. 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  135 

Yet  it  is  easier  to  deliver  an  informal  University 
lecture  with  a  manuscript  open  before  one  than  to 
do  the  same  thing  before  the  Fifth  Form  of  a  classical 
or  modern  school.  The  University  professor  has 
more  time  for  undisturbed  preparation.  He  exists 
for  this  purpose,  and  for  no  other,  and  can  speak 
as  he  would  to  his  equals  in  intellect,  whereas  the 
schoolmaster  must  accommodate  his  lecture  to 
immature  minds.  The  latter,  therefore,  must  follow 
the  counsel  of  Daedalus,  flying  neither  too  high  nor 
too  low,  avoiding  both  the  clouds  and  the  water — 
a  matter  more  easily  said  than  done.  Where  the 
professor  is  able  to  presuppose  ideas,  the  master  is 
obliged  to  analyze  these  ideas,  regardless  of  apparent 
pedantry.  He  must  commit  the  great  mistake, 
when  regarded  from  the  highest  historical  stand- 
point, of  repeating  himself ;  must  go  over  matters 
of  importance  two  or  three  times  in  different  lan- 
guage and  with  different  expressions.  We  would 
thus  advise  the  teacher  who  is  undertaking  this 
instruction  for  the  first  time  to  analyze  for  himself 
one  good  book  (not  six),  written  in  not  too  lofty 
or  too  detailed  a  style.  During  the  lesson  he  can 
easily  have  recourse  to  his  manuscript,  from  which 
help  he  will  be  able  to  emancipate  himself  as  he 
gains  confidence.  The  objection  that  the  use  of  a 
manuscript  will  make  a  bad  impression  upon  the 
pupils  or  diminish  the  "  authority  "  of  the  teacher 
is  sheer  nonsense.  The  boy  of  sixteen  or  seventeen 
is  quite  capable  of  realizing  the  industry  and  work 
of  his  master,  and  the  teacher's  authority  is  dimin- 


136         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

ished,  not  by  industry,  even  when  misapplied,  but 
rather  by  glib-tongued  obscurity.  It  must  thus  be 
remembered  that  the  historical  lecture  is  a  more 
difficult  matter  than  any  other  kind  of  teaching, 
and  the  beginner  should  not  attack  it  with  over- 
confidence.  Should  the  master  be  left  in  charge 
of  this  form  of  instruction  for  any  length  of  time, 
his  knowledge  and  his  analysis  will  gradually  be 
increased  from  good  and  first-hand  sources  of  in- 
formation, and  he  will  identify  himself  more  with 
that  world  into  which  he  is  to  introduce  his  pupils. 

This,  indeed,  is  the  true  means  of  vivifying  his- 
torical lectures,  that  the  teacher  should  identify 
himself  with  the  past,  whether  it  be  the  Persian 
War,  the  Punic  War,  the  Civil  Wars,  or  the  Imperial 
Period.  He  must  live  among  the  men  of  the  age 
of  which  he  treats.  It  is  an  object  that  many  do 
not  seek,  and  that  not  all  who  seek  find.  Nowhere, 
we  would  add,  is  this  spirit  of  the  past  reproduced 
with  greater  strength  and  freshness  than  in  Niebuhr's 
lectures  upon  ancient  history,  which  should  be 
studied  by  every  teacher  of  ancient  history  for  their 
style  and  general  character,  even  if  it  be  granted 
that  in  certain  respects  they  are  out  of  date,  or  that 
the  personal  view  is  too  prominent  in  such  cases 
as  his  description  of  Alexander  the  Great,  when  he 
represents  Demosthenes  as  a  saint  and  poor  Isocrates 
as  an  old  idiot.  The  great  teacher  threw  his  whole 
powers  into  these  lectures.  Apart  from  this,  we 
can  but  repeat  our  advice  not  to  read  too  much  of 
what  has  been  written  about  historical  teaching, 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  137 

but  to  read  the  subject-matter  of  it,  and  to  study 
the  history  of  the  past.  It  is,  indeed,  difficult  to 
master  this  material  which  is  truly  infinite,  and  so 
to  comprehend  it  that  it  may  really  reproduce  the 
past  while  restraining  it  within  the  limits  dictated 
by  our  scanty  lessons.  It  is  no  less  easy  to  talk 
upon  the  subject,  to  propose  theories  of  teaching 
and  repeat  catch-words  upon  its  effects,  and  espe- 
cially upon  its  ethical  influences. 

Here,  as  in  every  stage,  it  is  obvious  that  regular 
revision  or  recapitulation  of  the  previous  lesson  is 
absolutely  necessary.  Unfortunately,  but  little 
time  will  remain  from  the  one  year's  course  in  the 
Upper  Fifth  for  the  general  revision  of  each  section 
when  it  has  been  worked  through — the  revision, 
that  is,  of  the  three  or  four  periods  into  which  Greek 
and  Roman  history  can  be  divided.  We  must  con- 
sole ourselves  with  the  somewhat  inadequate  com- 
fort of  the  fact  that  the  whole  course  of  ancient 
history  is  a  repetition  or  revision,  a  deepening  or 
extension  of  the  knowledge  of  ancient  history 
acquired  from  the  First  Form  to  the  Lower  Fifth, 
acquired  in  some  cases  by  private  reading,  and 
brought  into  connexion  by  the  elementary  course 
pursued  in  the  Third  Form.  We  are  thus  given  some 
3  x  40=  120  history  lessons,  and  for  these  revisions 
we  can  reserve  at  most  two  lessons  for  each  section 
— that  is,  sixteen  altogether.  Hence,  there  will  be 
no  time  left  for  the  elaboration  of  constitutional 
theory  and  the  like,  nor  is  this  latter  necessary. 
Enough  has  been  done  if  the  most  important  facts 


138  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

of  a  period  are  held  in  connexion  from  a  fresh  point 
of  view,  and  are  remodelled  with  the  object  of 
proving  whether  they  have  been  actually  understood 
by  the  majority  of  the  pupils.  For  instance,  take 
the  period  of  Roman  history  from  264  to  133  B.C. 
In  external  history,  name  the  most  important  battles 
of  these  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  years,  and 
their  dates  in  chronological  order  :  Mylse,  Eknomus, 
Panormus,  the  iEgatian  Islands,  Telamon,  Ticinus, 
Trebia,  Trasimene,  Cannae,  Sena,  Zama,  Cynosce- 
phalae,  Magnesia,  Pydna,  the  destruction  of  the  three 
cities,  Corinth,  Carthage,  and  Numantia  ;  then  the 
extent  of  the  Roman  power  in  241,  228,  218,  201,  197, 
190,  168,  133  B.C.  Then  consider  the  development  of 
home  politics,  the  most  important  statesmen  of  this 
time,  and  their  party  position  or  other  character- 
istics :  Regulus,  Flaminius,  Fabius,  Terentius  Varro 
and  ^Emilius  Paulus,  P.  Cornelius  Scipio  and  Cato, 
Flamininus,  yEmilius  Paulus,  etc.  Much  seems  to 
have  been  done  in  this  direction  of  late  with  the 
new  method  of  German  essays  in  brief,  which  educa- 
tional reformers  have  urged  upon  the  teaching  pro- 
fession, and  with  which,  we  fear,  many  fruitless  ex- 
periments must  have  been  made  at  the  outset.  We 
cannot  promise  much  advantage  to  historical  in- 
struction from  this  method  ;  at  the  same  time, 
instead  of  requiring  oral  revision  of  a  section,  the 
master  may  set  a  question  or  several  questions  from 
this  period  to  be  written  out  in  a  straightforward 
manner,  and  can  discover  from  the  answers  how 
much    actual    fact    has    been    remembered,    what 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  139 

capacity  exists  for  using  known  facts,  and  how 
far  his  pupils  are  able  to  express  themselves  intel- 
ligibly upon  historical  subjects.  This  has  always 
been  a  possible  method  under  any  conditions,  apart 
from  the  fact  that  in  the  Sixth  Form  subjects  for 
Latin  themes  have  been  constantly  drawn  from 
ancient  history,  and  have  proved  a  very  effective 
means  of  elaborating  certain  important  questions 
when  the  subjects  have  been  handled  with  due  dis- 
cretion. This  point,  however,  brings  us  to  the 
question  of  history-teaching  in  the  Sixth  Form. 


Sixth  Form. 

At  the  meeting  of  historical  teachers  at  Leipsic 
in  1894*  a  motion  was  adopted  to  the  effect  that 
the  highest  stage  of  secondary  instruction  should 
be  occupied  with  modern,  especially  with  German 
history,  in  preference  to  the  study  of  ancient  history. 
It  was  scarcely  necessary  to  emphasize  the  fact,  for 
opinion  seems  fairly  agreed  that  the  two  last  years 
of  a  secondary  school  course  should  be  devoted  to 
European  history  from  a.d.  476 ;  that  in  them  the 
larger  part  of  the  attention  should  be  given  to 
'modern'  history — that  is,  history  from  1517  on- 
wards ;  and  that  time  should  also  be  found  for  the 
period  from  1815  to  1871,  which  the  events  of  1871 
made  productive.  It  was  a  representative  of  strict 
humanism  in  the  Berlin  Conference  of    1873  who 

*  Berickt   iiber  die  zweite    Versammlung  deutscher  Historiker, 
Leipsic,  1894. 


140         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

gave  emphatic  expression  for  the  first  time,  as  far 
as  we  know,  to  this  somewhat  obvious  truth.  The 
champions  of  classical  school-teaching  have  been 
unjustly  reproached  with  the  desire  to  throw  modern 
history  into  the  background  in  favour  of  ancient. 
Such  attempts  have  been  purely  sporadic.  An 
instance  between  1860  and  1870  was  the  zeal  with 
which  Karl  Peter  championed  the  theory  that 
ancient  history  should  form  the  main  subject  of 
historical  teaching  in  the  Sixth  Form.  Representa- 
tives of  the  classical  schools  have  always  rejected 
this  idea,  with  reference  to  the  principles  repeated 
in  the  above-mentioned  motion  at  Leipsic,  that 
"  the  deeper  view  of  ancient  history  is  essentially 
to  be  derived  from  the  reading  of  the  classics  " — in 
other  words,  that  the  final  possibility  of  realizing 
antiquity  at  the  secondary  school  should  be  not 
merely  an  object,  but  the  chief  object,  of  Sixth-Form 
instruction — an  assertion  which  was  formerly  better 
justified  than  now. 

We  must  again  return  to  those  side  influences 
which  can  guide  the  formation  of  the  historical 
sense  at  this  stage,  but  we  have  first  to  point  out 
that  in  the  case  of  many  pupils  true  scientific  in- 
terest is  here  keen,  though  not  always  definite. 
Some  will  show  an  eager  interest  in  everything 
worth  knowing  that  comes  within  their  range  ; 
others  will  display  a  special  bias  in  one  direction, 
will  study  mathematics  with  zeal  and  intelligence, 
be  careless  of  linguistic  interest,  and  practically  im- 
penetrable  to    historical   influence.     In   these    and 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  141 

other  ways  specialist  leanings  become  visible.  There 
are  also  other  cases  where  a  very  definite  leaning 
is  displayed  to  the  subject  which  is  to  be  a  speciality 
for  life,  but  where  at  the  same  time  interest,  or  at 
any  rate  conscientious  industry,  is  devoted  to  other 
subjects,  and  these  are  precisely  the  pupils  who  will 
bring  forth  fruit  an  hundredfold  upon  the  field  of 
the  secondary  school.  It  is,  however,  very  natural 
that  the  pupil  should  himself  regard  the  various 
sciences  which  he  studies  as  more  or  less  mutually 
independent.  Their  reaction  and  interaction  natur- 
ally does  not  cease,  and  in  a  sense  they  become 
more  intensive  than  before  ;  but  these  mutual  influ- 
ences are  less  easily  regulated  in  view  of  the  growing 
independence  of  the  pupil,  and  cannot  be  guided 
by  the  fictitious  principles  of  concentration.  It  is 
imposssible  to  demand  universal  perfection  in  every 
subject  from  boys  of  seventeen  and  eighteen,  for 
the  reason  that  at  this  age  the  pupil  shows  a  repug- 
nance to  what  may  be  called  partisan  teaching,  and 
this  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  considering  our 
own  teaching. 

Hence  our  questions  must  be  formulated  in  some- 
what different  terms  than  in  the  previous  stages. 
We  ask  what  effect  the  different  subjects  of  study 
have  upon  the  pupil's  education,  and  how  this 
general  educative  process  affects  or  is  affected  by 
historical  teaching  ?  We  ask  again,  What  is  the 
general  product,  what  is  the  minimum  and  maximum 
product,  of  this  teaching  in  the  secondary  school  ? 

It  is  obvious  that  the  different  subjects  of  study 


142  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

necessarily  come  in  contact  with  historical  instruc- 
tion, but  with  certain  plain  differences.  Contact 
with  mathematics  and  natural  science  is,  of  course, 
very  slight,  although  far-sighted  teachers  will  find 
an  opportunity  in  either  case  to  refer  to  the  ideas 
existing  in  the  ancient  world  upon  the  great  problems 
of  science  which  we  now  know  by  the  names  of 
Greek  derivations  as  mathematics,  physics,  the 
cosmos,  etc.  The  teacher  will  show  how  discovery 
has  advanced  very  gradually  and  by  no  means 
directly,  and  how  all  knowledge  is  connected  by  a 
universal  tie.*  An  opportunity  will  be  found  to 
demonstrate  the  fact,  which  modern  barbarism 
seems  haughtily  to  reject,  that  natural  science  has 
made  its  vast  advance  and  secured  its  immense 
influence  upon  human  life  merely  because  numbers 
of  disinterested  investigators  worked  without  thanks 
and  profit  for  the  mere  sake  of  knowledge,  and  were 
often  forced  to  struggle  with  prejudice  and  ob- 
scurantism. It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  refer 
briefly  to  the  manner  in  which  astronomy  developed 
from  astrology  and  the  lofty  science  of  chemistry 
from  the  search  for  the  philosopher's  stone,  and  to 
mention  the  names  which  forwarded  this  develop- 
ment. I  refer  to  these  facts  because  I  have  known 
grown-up  youths  among  the  philologists  and  mathe- 

*  Upon  this  point  the  Greek  reading  book  of  Wilamowitz  is 
important,  and  will  doubtless  produce  its  effect,  not  only  directly 
upon  the  secondary  school,  but  also  upon  earnest  students  both 
at  the  University  and  in  the  training  colleges  among  the  rising 
generation  of  teachers. 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  143 

maticians  of  my  acquaintance  who  could  not  entirely 
refrain  from  casting  contemptuous  glances  at  the 
other  sciences,  without  realizing  how  contemptible 
they  were  making  themselves.  Whether  at  the 
University  or  at  the  secondary  school,  there  must 
be  mutual  respect  between  the  sciences.  To  borrow 
a  striking  instance  used  by  a  clever  philologist,  a 
man  who  writes  or  can  write  a  dissertation  of  some 
hundred  pages  upon  the  two-celled  schizomycetes 
should  respect  as  himself  another  who  can  write  a 
similar  treatise  upon  a  Greek  word  of  two  letters, 
av.  The  common  duty  of  all  teachers  united  in  one 
corporation  is  to  implant  a  respect  for  knowledge 
for  its  own  sake  at  classical  or  at  modern  schools, 
and  it  is  hence  that  every  science  derives  its  nobility 
and  its  sanctity.  Of  practical  use  in  the  common 
sense  of  the  word  to  the  majority  of  men  in  after- 
life is  neither  the  knowledge  of  the  Pythagorean 
formula  nor  the  rules  for  constructing  conditional 
sentences  in  Greek,  nor  the  information  that  Charles 
the  Great  ruled  from  a.d.  768  to  814. 

As  we  have  already  observed,  German  literature 
has  been  recently  and  specially  claimed  in  the 
upper  stages  as  the  central  point  of  the  general 
instruction  given  in  our  secondary  schools,  while 
the  German  essay  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  strongest 
proof  of  intellectual  maturity.  The  claim  has  always 
been  justified  so  far  as  it  is  just,  and  has  only  been 
obscured  at  times  by  incompetent  workmen,  as  may 
happen  to  any  other  truth.  The  task  of  the  teacher 
of  German  has,  by  degrees,  become  many-sided,  and 


144         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

bhe  success  of  his  teaching  depends  more  than  in 
any  other  subject  upon  his  own  individuality.  In 
the  interest  of  our  own  subject,  paradoxical  as  it 
may  sound,  we  welcome  the  step  which  has  rejected 
the  sonorous  term  "  literary  history,"  and  now  no 
longer  discusses  developments,  schools  of  poetry, 
etc.,  but  makes  the  pupil  read  the  poems  and  the 
poetry  for  himself.  A  habit  is  thus  acquired  of 
reading  a  number  of  classical  works,  tragedies,  and 
the  like,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  pupil  is 
accordingly  stimulated  to  supplement  his  school 
literature  by  home  reading.  By  our  position  as 
history  teachers,  occupied  with  a  certain  part  of 
youthful  education,  we  are  also  obliged  to  pay 
attention  to  the  treatment  of  other  school  subjects. 
We  must  accordingly  state  that  too  much  analysis, 
both  of  style  and  matter,  seems  at  the  present 
moment  to  be  fashionable  in  literature  lessons.  The 
technique  of  the  drama  is  analyzed,  leading  figures 
and  their  contrasts,  the  main  plot  and  the  counter- 
plot, the  rise  and  fall  of  the  action,  etc.  These 
explanations  are  actually  supported  by  the  use  of 
geometrical  figures,  and  even  the  preaching  of  the 
Capuchin  monk  in  WaUenstein  is  now  set  forth 
with  the  aid  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  All  this 
seems  to  us  to  divert  attention  from  that  which 
Goethe's  Iphigenie  or  Schiller's  WaUenstein  should 
really  be  to  the  young  scholar.  The  great  and 
noble  thoughts,  the  interest  of  human  destiny,  the 
development  of  character,  the  dominating  genius  in 
conflict  with  eternal  opposition  overthrown  because 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  145 

he  stains  his  lofty  task  by  ambition,  the  purity 
of  the  woman  who  breaks  the  dreadful  curse  upon 
a  family  and  brings  morality  to  a  barbarous  people 
— in  short,  all  the  nobility  of  these  poems  should, 
we  think,  be  brought  home  to  the  youthful  hearer 
or  reader  by  personal  sympathy  and  appreciation. 
We  are  concerned  little  with  the  artistic  form  and 
the  technique  of  the  drama,  but  much  with  its 
material  content  and  the  scope  of  its  ideas,  from 
which  we  can  expect  an  influence  beneficial  upon 
the  historical  sense,  and  indirectly  upon  historical 
learning.  It  is  unnecessary  to  labour  the  point. 
Anyone  who  has  fully  appreciated    the    words    in 

Wallenstein — 

"  When  the  heart 
Comes  not  unscathed  from  out  the  strife  of  duty,"  etc. 

and  the  conditions  and  frame  of  mind  in  which 
these  words  were  spoken,  has  understood  an  event 
no  less  historical  than  the  conversion  of  Henry  IV. 
of  France  in  1593.  In  every  case,  though  perhaps 
not  so  immediately  as  in  reading  Schiller's  Maria 
Stuart,  the  Sixth-Form  boy  will  feel  that  he  is  re- 
ceiving an  education  in  history,  and  that  every 
immediate  presentation  of  fact,  including  that  given 
by  immortal  poetry,  will  deepen  his  knowledge  of 
the  past.  At  the  same  time,  if  he  proceeds  to  read 
our  great  poems  from  a  different  point  of  view  than 
that  of  pure  history,  he  will  gain  a  deeper  know- 
ledge of  the  tragical  elements  in  historical  events, 
such  as  the  condemnation  of  John  Huss  by  a 
reforming  council.      There  is  yet  another  external 

10 


146         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

point  in  close  connexion  with  the  former.  The 
capacity  to  reproduce  somewhat  complicated  his- 
torical events  in  educated  language,  reproduction 
implying  something  more  than  mere  repetition,  is 
but  little  developed,  even  at  this  stage.  The  defi- 
ciency is  only  natural,  for  the  task  is  very  difficult. 
The  German  literature  lesson,  therefore,  sharpens 
and  improves  the  pupil's  linguistic  power,  and  en- 
riches his  historical  vocabulary. 

The  same  facts  are  true  mutatis  mutandis,  for  the 
modern  schools.  The  special  duty  and,  we  may 
add,  the  special  pleasure  of  the  master  who  is  in 
charge  of  the  literary  studies  of  a  modern  Sixth 
chiefly  consists  in  the  fact  that  he  can  give  his 
pupils  some  compensation  for  the  initial  advantages 
which  the  classical  schoolboy  enjoys,  and  the  same 
facts  are  true  of  the  religious  instruction. 

To  this  latter  subject  we  need  add  very  little  to 
the  observations  already  made  at  the  different  stages, 
and  especially  in  dealing  with  the  Upper  Fifth.  I 
can  only  speak  of  the  Protestant  divinity  teaching. 
Catholic  teaching,  so  far  as  my  experience  has  gone, 
appears  chiefly  directed  to  providing  the  pupils  with 
a  simple  system  of  apologetics,  and  thus  cannot 
have  the  effect  that  we  here  desire,  though  I  am  far 
from  pronouncing  any  general  criticism  of  the  system. 
The  periods  of  divinity  set  down  for  Sixth-Form  study 
in  every  German  State,  and  not  in  Prussia  alone, 
comprise  great  historical  periods  of  Church  history 
— the  history  of  the  first  three  centuries,  the  most 
important  movements  in  medieval  Church  history, 
the  history  of  the  Reformation,  the  most  important 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  147 

tendencies  of  the  post-Reformation  period  ;  hence, 
from  the  very  nature  of  the  subject,  this  teaching 
can  effectively  supplement  and  deepen  the  historical 
instruction.  The  important  point  is,  however,  not 
so  much  the  acquisition  of  this  knowledge  or  its 
wider  outlook,  but  the  fact  that  this  instruction 
should  teach  the  young  man  to  regard  himself  as  a 
lively  member  of  a  corporation,  historical  in  the 
deepest  sense,  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church 
and  of  the  community  of  Christ,  which  reaches  back 
for  centuries,  and  points  the  way  for  centuries  to 
come.  We  assumed  at  the  outset  that  historical 
comprehension,  and  therefore  historical  training, 
was  only  possible  when  the  conception  of  humanity 
as  an  ethical  whole  had  been  grasped,  this  con- 
ception implying  an  idea  and  consciousness  of  God 
as  its  necessary  correlative.  This  principle  now 
becomes  of  greater  importance  in  so  far  as  the  seeds 
already  sown  in  the  First  and  Second  Forms  have 
been  watered  and  have  grown.  Thus  much,  at  least, 
should  have  been  secured  in  every  case  by  religious 
instruction,  that  the  idea  of  the  kingdom  of  God  has 
become  a  reality.  "  This  man  is  not  far  from  the 
kingdom  of  God,"  says  Jesus  of  one  of  the  scribes  who 
asked  the  supreme  law  of  action  ;  but  mere  knowledge 
of  the  kingdom  does  not  imply  membership.  To 
express  the  matter  in  secular  terms,  religious  instruc- 
tion provides  the  pupils  of  the  upper  Forms  with  a 
philosophy  of  history  and  with  something  that 
supplies  a  philosophic  impulse  or  a  philosophic 
leaven  to  their  historical  knowledge. 

10—2 


148  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

This,  however,  is  not  enough  for  life,  and  his- 
torical or  religious  knowledge  will  only  bring  forth 
dead  fruit  unless  it  can  affect  the  action  of  man- 
kind. Of  these  facts  we  are  well  aware,  as  we  are 
of  the  special  mission  of  religious  instruction  in  this 
respect.  The  divinity  lesson  has  only  fulfilled  its 
purpose  if  the  pupils,  few  or  many,  have  not  merely 
learnt,  for  instance,  the  circumstances  which  pro- 
duced the  Augsburg  Confession  of  Faith,  but  have 
also  realized  in  heart  and  intellect  and  will  that 
God  requires  from  all  who  regard  this  confession  as 
their  creed  the  same  courage  as  the  men  of  that 
blessed  period  displayed,  and  which  the  men  of  our 
own  time  will  also  need  in  their  conflict  with  lies 
and  half  lies. 

As  regards  linguistic  study,  whether  of  ancient 
or  modern  languages,  it  is  obvious  that  the  more 
easily  the  Sixth-Form  boy  can  read  a  foreign  lan- 
guage, the  more  rapidly  will  his  historical  powers 
be  developed  by  such  reading  ;  while  everything 
that  diminishes  this  facility,  whether  it  be  gram- 
matical pedantry  or  the  dilettantism  more  fashion- 
able at  this  moment,  will  manifest  its  evil  effects 
at  this  point  in  particular.  Here  we  must  speak  of 
the  so-called  source-books  which  are  in  existence. 
These  were  at  first  compiled,  and  Math  good 
reason,  for  the  purposes  of  ancient  history,  but  the 
idea  has  also  been  applied  to  medieval  and  modern 
history.  We  have  always  feared  that  the  method 
might  introduce  an  unnecessary  distraction  into  the 
organization  of  historical  teaching,  and  we  doubt  if 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  149 

the  experiment  has  been  successful  where  it  has  been 
tried  ;  but  as  we  have  no  time  for  such  luxuries,  it 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  speak  further  upon  the 
matter.  The  only  study  that  can  really  be  called 
the  reading  of  sources  is  the  regular  reading  of  the 
classical  texts.  The  classical  authors  are  historical 
sources  at  every  stage  of  school-life,  and  more  than 
ever  at  this  highest  stage.  Historians  such  as  Livy, 
Sallust,  Tacitus,  Xenophon,  Thucydides,  either  give 
us  records  of  a  past  which  was  to  them  a  present, 
and  in  any  case  was  vivid  to  them  as  it  can  never 
be  to  us,  or  they  reflect  the  spirit,  the  intellectual 
and  moral  views  of  their  time  as  do  the  poets  Homer, 
Sophocles,  and  Horace  ;  or  if  they  be  orators  like 
Cicero,  or  Demosthenes  they  introduce  us  to  great 
affairs  of  State  or  private  life.  To  read  the  first 
Philippic  with,  a  class  and  to  make  it  clear  to  them, 
means  to  explain  the  situation  of  the  political  world 
as  it  was  about  the  time  of  the  birth  of  Alexander 
the  Great.  In  tins  atmosphere  the  pupil  lives,  and 
its  historical  interest  and  standpoint  provide  us  with 
a  magician's  wand  by  which  we  can  change  to  gold 
all  that  comes  in  connexion  with  this  study.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  Philip  of  Isocrates — a  work  of  very 
moderate  literary  value,  like  all  productions  of  that 
limited  mind.  For  us  and  for  boys  of  eighteen  it 
forms  an  invaluable  historical  document,  intro- 
ductory to  the  political  ideas  and  the  intellectual 
movements  existing  at  the  outset  of  the  monarchical 
Macedonian  or  Hellenistic  age.  This  interest  can 
never  be  entirely  extinguished  by  the  most  incom- 


150  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

petcnt  teaching,  wliile  it  can  become  extraordinarily 
efficacious  in  the  hands  of  a  teacher  who  has  any- 
feeling  for  history.  If  we  take  an  average  case,  and 
consider  a  document  that  is  not  specially  calculated 
to  produce  the  effect  which  we  desire,  take  a  Form 
of  boys  from  seventeen  to  twenty  years  of  age  who 
have  read  throughout  a  winter  the  fourth  or  fifth 
Verrine  oration.  They  have  gained  a  clear  concep- 
tion of  the  life  of  a  Roman  provincial  population  in 
the  first  century  B.C.,  and  can  realize  for  themselves 
the  locality  and  the  age.  This  realizing  a  piece  of 
the  past  as  a  present  by  means  of  its  records  is  just 
what  history,  historical  study,  and  historical  know- 
ledge mean.  This  is  neither  paradoxical  nor  new, 
but  is  immediately  enlightening.  Yet  it  is  notorious 
that  educational  methods  very  often  miss  this 
obvious  point.  It  may  even  be  asserted  that  failure 
to  recognize  this  plain  truth  and  the  unhistorical 
treatment  of  the  classical  languages  and  their  litera- 
ture is  to  blame  for  the  evil  influences  which  threaten 
to  shatter  the  whole  of  our  secondary  educational 
system.  To  prove  our  point,  and  to  show  what  we 
mean  when  we  say  that  classical  literature  in  our 
schools  is  really  the  reading  of  historical  sources, 
we  need  only  refer  to  Horace.  No  classical  author 
is  more  valuable  to  the  historian  than  this  little 
book.  The  odes,  the  satires,  the  epistles,  and  the 
epodes  everywhere  provide  numberless  pictures  from 
the  daily  life  of  Rome,  the  life,  too,  of  the  common 
people,  and  not  merely  of  the  upper  ten  thousand. 
Horace  shows  us  the  secondary  school  of  the  Italian 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  151 

provincial  town,  the  auditorium  of  the  magister  at 
Rome,  university  life  at  Athens,  and  the  street  life 
of  the  capital.  We  see  the  crier  Mena  and  the 
petit  peuple  in  their  short  sleeves,  the  popellus 
tunicatus,  every  order  and  profession  of  society — 
clerks  and  officers,  estate  agents,  surly  scholars, 
princes  of  the  imperial  house,  needy  philosophers 
and  poetasters,  political,  legal,  and  social  life, 
literary  tendencies  and  cliques — these  pass  before 
our  eyes,  and  are  depicted  by  a  keen  observer,  born 
in  freedom,  educated  in  a  Grseco-Roman  corner  of 
Italy,  personally  connected  with  the  great  political 
revolution,  and  brought  by  his  own  talents,  tact, 
and  good  fortune  into  immediate  connexion  with  the 
rulers  and  leaders  of  the  nation.  All  this  can  be 
learnt  from  Horace,  and  can  be  learnt  by  the  school- 
boy whose  interests  and  sympathies  have  not  been 
blunted.  It  is  not  difficult,  and  requires  no  special 
art,  thus  to  study  Horace  with  a  Form.  The  teacher 
is  not  asked  to  sacrifice  any  essential  interests  or 
special  hobby  of  his  own,  though  he  must  abandon 
attempts  to  enlarge  upon  the  metrical  system  of  the 
odes  or  attempts  to  classify  their  form.  Well  for 
Mm  and  for  his  pupils  if  he  can  succeed  in  the  effort. 
At  this  point  we  should  like  to  say  a  word  in 
passing  upon  a  subject  which  is  commonly  regarded 
as  unconnected  with  that  historical  training  which 
gives  the  classical  school  its  true  individuality.  We 
refer  to  translation  from  German  into  the  classical 
languages.  It  is  a  practice  in  little  favour  with  that 
dilettantism  which  objects  to   serious  work  and  is 


152  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

too  often  a  leading  influence  in  questions  of  school 
policy.  We  can  hardly  suppose  that  the  short- 
sighted persons  who  follow  this  fashion  can  have 
any  idea  of  the  value  of  the  practice.  Translation 
into  the  ancient  languages  avoids  that  superficiality 
which  seems  to  characterize  its  opponents  by  forcing 
the  translator  to  think  in  the  spirit  of  the  men  who 
gave  expression  to  their  thoughts  two  thousand 
years  ago  by  means  of  a  fundamentally  different 
language,  and  holding  the  opinions  of  another  age. 
To  any  linguistic  expert  it  is  obvious  that  transla- 
tion from  the  mother-tongue  into  a  foreign  language 
implies  a  far  closer  acquaintance  with  the  latter 
than  the  reverse  process,  and  that  the  language  of  a 
nation  during  a  definite  period  preserves  the  mental 
attitude  of  the  nation  and  of  the  time,  and  is  thus 
far  a  subject  of  study  essentially  historical.  The 
fact  is  true  even  in  schools,  and  when  a  boy  is 
obliged  to  consider  whether  he  shall  translate  the 
word  "  foreigner  "  by  peregrinus,  hospes,  advena, 
barbarus,  by  feVo<?  or  @dpl3apo<;,  he  learns  a  number 
of  ideas  by  no  means  unimportant  which  were  pre- 
valent in  the  classical  period.  The  last  of  these 
words  is,  indeed,  of  high  importance  to  the  history 
of  civilization,  and  the  teacher  can  very  well  afford 
to  spend  a  moment  upon  it. 

Modern  languages — French  and  English  of  the 
present  day — do  not,  and  cannot,  produce  this  effect, 
and  a  capable  student  can  never  learn  from  them 
what  he  can  learn  from  Horace  or  Homer  concerning 
human  life  regarded  from  the  historical  point  of 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  153 

view.  Yet  they,  too,  make  a  contribution  to  what 
is  known  as  general  education,  though  much  of  this 
consists  of  practical  or  useful  information.  Some 
portion,  however,  does  concern  the  past,  and  is, 
therefore,  an  influence  upon  historical  training. 
We  have  already  observed  in  reference  to  modern 
languages  that  we  do  not  share  the  rising  objection 
to  books  of  selections.  We  would  gladly  see  in  the 
hands  of  the  pupils  books  of  French  or  English 
extracts,  not  merely  well  chosen,  but  also  compre- 
hensive in  character.  Those  of  Plotz  or  Herrig 
both  seem  very  suitable  for  this  purpose.  Probably 
hardly  a  third  of  them  can  be  read  in  school,  but  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  pupils,  when  the 
instruction  is  inspired  by  genuine  interest  on  the 
master's  part,  will  read  the  remainder,  or  much 
of  it,  for  themselves.  The  pupil  who  does  this  will 
advance  his  historical  culture  as  follows  :  In  the 
first  place,  the  leading  figures  of  French  national 
literature — Racine,  Moliere,  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  etc. 
— will  be  something  more  to  him  than  mere 
names ;  in  the  second  place,  he  wall  learn  for  what 
reason  French  literature  so  long  outstripped  our 
own,  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  the  German  spirit  began  to  realize  itself. 
Thirdly,  he  will  involuntarily  make  a  constant  com- 
parison between  his  own  nation  and  the  foreign 
nation,  and  by  considering  their  respective  advan- 
tages and  defects  will  improve  his  power  of  judg- 
ment. This  we  consider  is  very  requisite  in  the 
formation  of  the  historical  sense,  and  a  valuable 


154         TPIE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

means  of  increasing  it.  Fourthly,  he  will  extend  his 
intellectual  horizon  ;  and  fifthly,  he  will  learn  to 
respect  the  special  advantages  of  French  historical 
science  and  narrative,  or  at  any  rate  will  be  im- 
pressed by  these.  We  do  not  propose  to  discuss  in 
what  manner  French  should  be  taught  in  secondary 
schools,  but  this  advantage  is  incomparably  higher 
than  the  capacity  to  use  the  velar  palate  with 
certainty  or  to  order  a  beef -steak  in  France  without 
raising  a  smile  upon  the  face  of  the  waiter.  Of 
high  importance,  too,  even  from  the  point  of  view 
we  have  mentioned,  is  the  practice  of  translation 
into  French,  and  our  limited  capacities  are  totally 
unable  to  comprehend  the  regulations  of  the  Prussian 
syllabus  for  1892,  which  stipulates  that  from  the 
Upper  Fifth  downwards  written  translations  should 
be  made  only  from  French  into  German,  and  not 
vice  versa ;  nor  can  we  understand  why  many  of 
our  authorities  on  modern  language  teaching  object 
to  a  practice  that  seems  to  us  so  entirely  obvious. 

English  does  not  seem  so  beneficial  for  our 
special  purpose  as  French — at  any  rate,  in  the 
classical  school.  In  the  modern  school  English  will 
always  be  of  importance,  even  with  reference  to  the 
historical  training  of  the  pupils  ;  but  in  the  classical 
school  English  is  optional,  and  is  in  the  experimental 
stage,  so  that  probably  only  the  most  competent 
teachers  will  succeed  in  securing  any  considerable 
number  of  pupils.  The  chief  objection  is  that  the 
English  language  is  too  nearly  akin  to  the  German, 
both   in   point   of   view   and   expression.     Gibbon, 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  155 

Macaulay,  Lecky,  Prescott,  even  McCarthy,  Hallam, 
Stanhope,  etc.,  are  good  or  some  of  them  great 
historians  ;  Carlyle's  Cromwell,  his  French  Revolution, 
and  his  Frederick  the  Great  are  works  of  high  origin- 
ality and  genius  ;  but  the  reader,  even  if  he  be  of 
mature  years  and  entire  master  of  English,  will  lose 
very  little  if  he  reads  these  works  in  a  French  or 
German  translation.  Even  Milton  loses  but  little 
in  German,  and  only  of  Shakespeare  can  it  be  said 
that  he  must  be  read  in  English  if  his  spirit  is  to  be 
entirely  grasped,  and  that  his  influence  upon  the 
formation  of  the  historical  sense  is  far  greater  if  he 
be  read  in  the  original  than  in  the  most  excellent 
of  translations.  As  regards  later  study,  the  case 
is  different.  English  at  school  produces  no  real 
benefit  until  later,  and  is  intended  to  be  continued 
in  after-life,  its  educational  value  being  but  small 
at  the  outset  ;  whereas  Latin,  Greek,  and,  to  a  less 
degree,  French  exert  a  strong  educative  influence 
even  upon  those  who  may  find  no  special  use  for 
them  in  later  official  or  professional  life. 

Such,  then,  is  the  intellectual  pabulum  of  the 
Sixth-Form  boy,  in  addition  to  that  provided  by 
the  three  lessons  of  historical  teaching  proper.  Geo- 
graphy we  no  longer  regard  as  a  special  subject 
after  a  boy  leaves  the  Upper  Fifth.  Apart  from  so- 
called  physical  geography,  its  importance  has  been 
absorbed  by  history.  We  have  already  spoken  of 
the  recent  demand  in  Prussia  for  twenty-four 
geography  revisions  of  three  lessons  a  week.  These 
we  consider  little  more  than  a  side  dish  upon  the  bill 


156         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

of  fare.  We  have  two  years  before  us,  with  three 
lessons  a  week,  and  our  subject  is  history  from  a.d. 
470  to  1871,  with  the  possible  addition  of  a  summary 
to  1888  or  1900.  Fortunately,  we  need  not  discuss 
what  ultimate  goal  will  be  accepted  by  posterity 
in  five  hundred  years.  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is 
the  evil  thereof  ! 

The  wide  extent  of  the  matter  for  treatment  is 
the  first  tangible  obstacle.  This  is,  in  truth,  a  great 
difficulty  at  any  stage  of  secondary-school  instruction, 
and  especially  at  this  upper  stage,  as  full  knowledge 
and  the  completion  of  the  period  set  is  reasonably 
demanded.  The  system  of  distribution  has  become 
almost  conventional.  It  is  official  in  Prussia,  and 
has  been  adopted  in  most  of  the  syllabuses  of  the 
other  German  States.  It  is  as  follows  :  During  the 
first  year  medieval  history  to  1517,  and,  according 
to  the  Prussian  syllabus,  the  part  of  modern  history 
from  1517  to  1048.  Thus,  a  whole  year  is  left  for 
the  period  from  1048  to  1871  (1888  or  1900  or  1904), 
the  two  final  periods  of  modern  history,  according 
to  the  traditional  mode  of  revision.  Here,  too, 
"  information  concerning  our  social  and  economic 
development  "  should  also  be  treated. 

As  regards  this  division,  it  must  be  said  that  it 
involves  the  danger  of  adding  another  burden  to 
the  task  of  the  history  master,  which  is  already 
unduly  heavy.  Every  period  has  its  prominent 
ideas  and  special  interests,  which  naturally  affect 
the  history  teaching  in  the  higher  schools.  Thus, 
the  religious  and  dogmatic  point  was  prominent  in 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  157 

the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  literary 
and  aesthetic  considerations  dominated  the  close  of 
the  preceding  century,  while  philosophical  interests 
were  paramount  between  1820  and  1830,  the  age 
when  Hegel's  philosophy  held  the  field.  At  the 
present  moment  social  and  economic  developments 
are  the  leading  interest  or  catch-word.  It  is  natural 
and  right  that  these  matters  should  now  be  given 
a  first  place  in  our  historical  works.*  Many  history 
teachers  in  secondary  schools,  without  waiting  for 
any  ministerial  decree  upon  the  point,  have  given 
full  weight  in  their  teaching  to  these  realistic 
points  in  order  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  national 
life.  For  this  very  reason  it  is  advisable  to  warn 
younger  colleagues  against  exaggeration,  since  these 
points  have  now  received  official  countenance, 
though  they  were  formerly  regarded  askance.  The 
subject  was  discussed  by  the  fifth  meeting  of  head 
masters  in  the  Rhine  Conference  (1893),  and  also 
by  similar  meetings  in  other  Prussian  provinces, 
upon  the  basis  of  careful  reports.  It  was  very 
properly  asserted  that  instruction  in  this  subject 
is  not  an  end  in  itself,  but  should  be  given  only  in 
the  closest  organic  connexion  with  history  teaching 
as  it  proceeds  in  chronological  order.  The  motions 
adopted  are  marked  by  the  usual  idealism  and  high- 

*  For  instance,  in  the  brilliant  and  stimulating  work  of  Lam- 
precht,  which  will  be  occasionally  referred  to  in  the  discussion 
of  our  subject.  From  Lamprecht's  German  history  the  teacher 
will  find  much  that  is  stimulating,  and  his  teaching  will  benefit 
indirectly,  but  not  directly.  We  must  therefore  advise  our 
younger  colleagues  to  approach  this  subject  with  great  caution. 


L58  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

flown  phraseology ;  the  particular  should  be  raised 

to  the  sphere  of  the  universal,  etc.,  but  these  out- 
growths have  been  restrained  within  due  limits. 
All  school  instruction  is  educative,  and  it  will, 
therefore,  suffice,  when  the  social  or  economic  con- 
ditions of  a  period  are  in  question,  that  the  teacher 
should  give  his  pupils  clear  conceptions  and  not 
empty  words.  He  will,  at  any  rate,  discover  that 
it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  bring  home  to  the  com- 
prehension of  boys  matters  that  seem  entirely 
simple,  such  as  the  difference  between  allodium 
and  beneficium,  or  the  relation  between  money  and 
credit  when  he  expounds  the  bankruptcy  of  Laws 
in  1720.  In  this  connexion  we  must  also  object 
to  the  idea  which  would  make  it  the  duty  of  school 
history  teaching  to  oppose  socialist  aberrations. 
There  is  no  great  danger  that  the  ranks  of  the  social 
democrats  will  be  strengthened  by  pupils  from 
those  classes  of  society  which  support  our  secondary 
schools,  while  any  introduction  of  this  political 
question  with  a  definite  purpose  of  opposition  might 
easily  produce  a  contrary  effect  upon  immature 
minds.  Social  democracy  is  by  no  means  a  new 
phenomenon ;  we  have  seen  it  at  the  helm  of  the 
State  in  1793  and  in  1871,  and  enough  is  done  when 
the  cases  are  mentioned  as  historical  facts ;  the 
application  of  the  facts  can  be  left  to  the  pupils 
themselves  and  to  the  future.  In  these  higher  stages 
historical  teaching  cannot  permit  digressions ;  its 
quiet  progress  must  accustom  the  learner  to  adopt 
a  historical  standpoint  and  thus  provide  him  with 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  159 

the  best  means  of  gaining  a  further  and  deeper 
knowledge  of  social  and  economic  conditions  ;  this 
will  be  the  best  weapon  with  which  to  combat  social 
democratic  and  other  revolutionary  movements. 

Here,  too,  we  would  expressly  state  that  we 
adopt  temporarily  as  a  concluding  point  of  detailed 
historical  study  in  the  secondary  school  the  year 
1871 — the  restoration  or  revival  of  the  German 
national  State.  We  believe  that  most  history 
teachers,  like  ourselves,  will  be  profoundly  thankful 
when  they  have  really  reached  this  goal.  An  hour 
or  two  may  be  left  for  a  short  chronicle  of  events 
until  1888,  or  to  the  "  present  time,"  i.e.,  in  the  strict 
sense  of  the  term,  to  the  very  moment  at  which  the 
master  is  giving  the  lesson.  Events  subsequent  to 
1871  are  certainly  history,  but  cannot  be  strictly 
taught  or  learnt  as  such.  Take  the  case  of  an 
Old-Catholic,  or  Protestant,  or  Roman  Catholic 
master,  who  has  lived  through  the  history  of  the 
last  thirty  years,  or  any  part  of  it,  with  full 
appreciation  of  its  importance  ;  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  such  a  man  to  relate  the  ecclesiastical 
struggles  which  are  essential  to  the  comprehension 
of  this  period  with  the  calm  impartiality  which 
is  expected  of  the  history  teacher  in  the  secondary 
school. 

After  this  preliminary  discussion  we  will  pro- 
ceed, as  previously,  to  treat  severally  of  the  text- 
book, the  lecture,  and  the  revision,  and  to  indicate 
the  modifications  required  by  the  age  and  develop- 
ment of  the  pupils  concerned. 


160         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Herbst  was  the  first  to  emphasize  the  essential 
point  that  the  text-book  should  observe  its  due 
limits,  and  should  be  nothing  more  than  an  auxiliary  ; 
in  itself  it  should  be  of  no  importance,  and  must  not 
take  the  butter  from  the  teacher's  bread.  While 
true  of  every  Form,  this  is  especially  true  of  the 
Sixth.  The  text-book  must  contain  historical 
material  in  brief  form,  well  arranged,  easy  to  refer 
to,  and  readily  intelligible.  Those  who  propose  to 
provide  the  world  with  new  books  of  this  kind 
might  take  as  a  model  of  style  the  works  of 
old  Spittler — now  out  of  date,  but  masterly  per- 
formances in  this  and  other  respects — especially 
his  works  upon  Church  history  and  the  history  of 
the  European  States.  The  same  remarks  apply 
detractis  detrahendis  to  Hase's  ecclesiastical  text- 
book for  University  lecturers.  The  book  must  be 
so  arranged  as  to  make  a  tabular  chart  of  events 
superfluous  ;  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  so  full  as 
to  enable  the  teacher  to  treat  certain  portions  with 
close  reference  to  the  text,  and  thus  to  gain  time 
for  more  detailed  treatment  of  those  parts  which 
Ins  studies  and  his  practical  experience  enable  him 
to  expound  at  greater  length. 

No  special  rules  can  be  given  for  the  use  of  the 
text-book  by  the  teacher  as  to  closeness  of  the  con- 
nexion he  should  maintain  with  it  while  lecturing  ; 
he  should  not  criticize  or  contradict  his  text-book — as 
often  happens — for  the  pupil  must  not  be  taught  to 
despise  his  books.  The  nearer,  however,  we 
approach  the  University  stage,  the  more  independent 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  161 

must  be  the  position  of  the  master.  In  view  of  the 
scantiness  of  the  time  and  the  fact  that  he  is  required 
to  complete  the  period,  he  must  not  be  content  to 
go  through  the  text-book  simply  paragraph  by 
paragraph.  In  my  youth  and  in  my  home  at 
Wurtemburg  a  common  question  among  first-term 
students  was,  with  whom  and  how  one  had  learnt 
history  ;  and  the  statement  that  one  or  another 
history  master  had  lectured  independently  of  the 
book  was  received  with  a  kind  of  surprise  as  an 
extraordinary  phenomenon.  Kiesel*  in  his  report 
upon  history  teaching — which  we  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  pronouncing  the  most  careful  and  readable 
report  which  we  know — makes  an  acute  and  some- 
what malicious  observation,  that  wherever  the 
merits  of  historical  teaching  are  discussed,  indepen- 
dent lecturing  is  regarded  as  indispensable — a  state- 
ment in  pleasing  contrast  to  much  actual  experi- 
ence. The  contrast  would  be  even  more  pleasing 
if  more  were  done  and  less  demanded  in  this  respect 
within  reasonable  limits.  Elsewhere  I  have  ob- 
served that  the  best  teacher  of  history  I  have  known 
— Christian  Marklin  (died  at  Heilbronn  in  1848) — 
did  not  lecture  independently,  but  worked  at  his 
history  with  constant  industry,  reading  from  a 
detailed  manuscript  which  was  admirable  both  in 
form  and  content,  and  producing  by  this  means  and 
by  force  of  character  an  effect  the  depth  of  which  still 
is  visible  to  me  and  to  many  of  his  pupils.     The  term 

*   Yerhandlungen  der   ersten  rheinischen  Direktor  Konferrenz, 
1881,  p.  100. 

II 


162  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

"  independent  "  or  "  informal  "  lecture  is  wholly 
relative  ;  if  the  University  teacher  can  have  a 
manuscript  or  full  notes  before  him  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  schoolmaster  should  not  follow  the 
same  procedure,  seeing  that  his  task  is  no  easier. 
After  fifty  years'  experience,  I  could  not  pledge  my- 
self to  lecture  at  any  moment  without  any  assistance 
whatever  from  notes  upon  some  complex  historical 
subject,  such  as  the  preliminary  causes  of  the  French 
Revolution  ;  nor  would  I  perform  the  feat  if  I  could. 
Demands  and  regulations  in  this  instance  are  worth- 
less, so  easy  is  it  to  invent  fine  phrases  upon  this 
subject. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  expound  the  other  advantages 
which  the  lecture  should  have — clarity,  vivacity, 
patriotic  or  religious  warmth  and  enthusiasm.  We 
will  content  ourselves  by  offering  to  our  younger 
colleagues  the  homely  advice  that  they  should  use 
short  sentences  and  as  few  substantives  as  possible, 
confining  themselves  to  concrete  terms.  Such  is  the 
advice  of  G.  Rumelin,  a  clear  and  strong  thinker 
to  whom  we  and  the  text-books  of  Herbst  owe  this 
principle,  which  we  have  found  sound  and  practical. 

In  entering  into  details  about  the  two  years'  course 
for  the  Sixth  Form  we  are  well  aware  that  our  obser- 
vations are  less  impartial  and  rather  more  a  matter 
of  personal  opinion  than  they  have  hitherto  been. 
None  the  less,  we  may  be  able  to  give  useful  hints 
to  younger  teachers,  and  to  enable  them  to  avoid 
mistakes  from  the  experience  of  our  own  errors  and 
those  of  others,  and  by  what  we  have  learnt  from  the 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  163 

skill  of  others  and  in  our  own  search  for  the  right 
method. 

The  first  year  in  the  Lower  Sixth  will  be  occupied 
by  medieval  and  a  portion  of  modern  history  ;  we 
consider  it  impossible  and  inadvisable  to  continue 
this  latter  to  1648,  and  will  be  content  to  reach 
1555  or  1618  at  the  utmost.  For  medieval  history 
the  indispensable  minimum  of  time  is  that  from 
Easter  to  Christmas  ;  in  the  succeeding  three  months 
it  is  impossible  to  treat  with  any  fullness  the  im- 
portant century  of  the  Reformation — a  European 
event  which  determined  the  future  history  of  every 
country — together  with  the  first  half  of  the  following 
century,  including  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  The 
period  is  too  wide  for  that  detailed  treatment  which 
is  not  merely  desirable,  but  necessary.  For  false 
views  upon  the  course  of  these  events  have  increased 
and  become  powerful  in  Germany,  since  the  first 
edition  of  this  book. 

Medieval  history  can  and  should  be  treated 
primarily  as  German  history  ;  theoretical  recognition 
of  this  fact  is  so  universal  that  we  need  not  labour 
the  point.  Some  two  lessons  will  be  devoted  to  the 
"  pre-history  "  of  the  Teutonic  nationality  ;  it  will 
be  assumed  that  the  Upper  Fifth  have  secured  a 
general  view  of  the  history  of  the  Roman  Empire  : 
it  is  unnecessary,  for  instance,  that  the  campaigns 
of  Drusus  and  Germanicus  should  be  severally  im- 
pressed upon  the  pupil's  memory.  The  conditions 
applicable  to  Greek  and  Roman  history  hold  good 
here,  and  we  shall,  therefore,  not  delay  unduly  over 

11—2 


164         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

the  hypothetical  history  of  primitive  times.  What 
is  certainly  known  of  the  primitive  life  of  the 
Teutonic  tribes  can  soon  be  narrated  ;  moreover, 
the  Upper  Sixth  will  shortly  be  reading  the  Germania 
of  Tacitus,  and  can  then  secure  all  necessary  in- 
formation upon  the  social  and  economic  development 
of  that  period.  The  Roman  imperial  power  in  this 
connexion  will  be  briefly  treated  as  preliminary  to 
medieval  German  history,  and  we  shall  not  be  led 
astray  by  the  demand  for  a  detailed  treatment  of 
Roman  imperial  history.  On  this  subject  Harnack 
made  some  useful  observations  in  the  discussions 
and  proceedings  of  the  Berlin  Conference  of  June, 
1900  {Verhandlungen,  p.  364  f  and  145  n\).  He 
suggests  that  our  treatment  should  include  "  under 
the  imperial  age,  the  rise  of  Christianity,  the  tension 
between  Church  and  State,  the  gradual  amalgama- 
tion of  Christianity  with  the  intellectual  culture  of 
the  ancient  world,  and  the  eventual  harmony 
between  the  two — the  whole  to  be  related  from  the 
standpoint  of  universal  history,  with  reference  to 
the  most  important  literary  monuments."  If  this 
is  possible  at  all  in  secondary  schools,  it  belongs  to 
the  divinity  lesson. 

Odoacer  can  be  dismissed  in  a  few  sentences  ;  on 
the  other  hand,  our  sources  of  information  permit 
us  to  construct  a  more  definite  picture  of  the  brilliant 
period  of  the  Gothic  supremacy  in  Italy,  including 
the  kingdom  of  Theoderich,  the  heroic  struggles 
of  the  nation,  and  the  Byzantine  restoration. 
Chlodwig  and  the  special  brand  of  theology  on  which 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  165 

his  conversion  is  based  may  be  similarly  treated.  It 
will,  however,  be  advisable  in  dealing  with  Frankish 
history  up  to  the  time  of  Charles  Martell  or  Charles 
the  Great  to  confine  ourselves  to  a  short  and  definite 
outline  of  the  period  ;  no  amount  of  description 
will  enable  the  schoolboy  to  understand  the  char- 
acteristic feature  of  the  period,  the  fusion  of  the 
traditional  Roman  culture  with  the  institutions  of 
Teutonic  barbarism.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
genius  of  Islam,  its  doctrine  and  morality,  and  the 
fantastic  or  mythological  elements  attached  to 
Mohammed's  teaching,  should  be  sufficiently  de- 
tailed to  provide  a  clear  idea  of  the  influence  which 
this  very  remarkable  religion  has  exerted  upon  the 
world.  The  history  of  its  first  conquests  in  Europe 
and  of  the  decisive  conflict  in  732  is  naturally  con- 
nected with  the  rise  of  the  new  Frankish  dynasty 
and  of  the  papal  authority,  the  origin  and  growth 
of  which  as  a  great  moral  authority  must  be  de- 
veloped from  an  objective  standpoint.  Even  a 
Protestant  will  recognize  the  growth  of  this  power 
as  something  providential  ;  it  is  not  the  business  of 
the  history  master  directly  to  oppose  the  theory 
that  the  Papacy  was  an  institution  immediately 
created  by  God — a  theory  untenable  by  the  scien- 
tific historian.  The  master  will  confine  himself  to 
a  detailed  account  of  papal  development,  and  will 
thus  attain  his  object.  We  may  observe  in  general 
that  here  and  elsewhere  all  polemical  treatment  of 
these  medieval  conceptions,  which  still  retain 
much  of  their  force,  is  to  be  avoided.     Such  methods 


166         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

are  unnecessary  for  Protestant  and  Jewish  pupils, 
and  in  the  case  of  Catholics  are  more  likely  to  bar 
the  way  to  a  true  appreciation  of  the  facts  ;  whereas 
it  should  be  our  business  to  keep  the  possibility  of 
such  appreciation  open  by  a  narrative  conducted,  as 
far  as  possible,  sine  ira  et  studio.  The  conquests  of 
Charles  the  Great  should  be  treated  summarily,  and 
his  governmental  work  in  greater  fullness,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  usual  method  in  vogue  ;  some  economic 
teaching  within  the  comprehension  of  the  school- 
boy can  be  derived  from  this  subject.  The  further 
history  of  the  ninth  century — the  a/xevrjva  Kap-qva  of 
the  Carolingians — will  be  given  very  shortly,  and 
also  the  history  of  Conrad  I.  and  Henry  I.  ;  a  fuller 
narrative  will  be  required  of  the  Saxon  dynasty 
until  1024.  But  here  undue  elaboration  must  be 
avoided  ;  the  struggles  of  Otto  I.  with  his  revolted 
brothers  and  sons  remain  as  vague  to  the  pupil  as 
do  the  leading  figures,  of  whom  no  clear  picture  can 
be  gained.  More  definite  characterization  is  pos- 
sible in  dealing  with  the  imposing  figure  of  Otto  I., 
but  little  in  the  case  of  Otto  III.  and  Henry  II., 
and  none  in  the  case  of  Otto  II.  When  the  most 
necessary  information  has  been  given  we  must 
explain,  before  proceeding  further,  what  achieve- 
ments had  been  made  in  Germany  up  to  that  point  ; 
the  repulse  of  the  marauding  peoples,  the  new  sense 
of  union  with  Italy  and  with  East  Rome,  and  the 
great  advance  of  civilization.  Bruno,  the  great 
Bishop,  stands  out  with  some  precision  in  our 
sources  of  information,  and  shows  us  the  medieval 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  167 

Church  of  the  tenth  century  in  a  highly  creditable 
and  attractive  light.  In  the  following  period  a  new 
difficulty  arises  ;  the  culminating  point  is  reached  in 
the  religious  quarrel  and  conflict  between  Henry  IV. 
and  Gregory  VII.  The  impartiality  of  the  history 
master  will  find  opportunity  for  exercise  in  re- 
storing the  true  picture  of  these  two  opponents, 
whose  characters  have  been  falsified  or  distorted 
by  contemporary  partisans.  I  know  that  at  the 
present  day,  as  in  my  youth,  fifty  years  ago,  teachers 
are  accustomed  to  enlarge  upon  the  insult  inflicted 
upon  the  German  kingdom  at  Canossa  ;  the  truth 
is  that  Henry  IV.,  by  his  penance  and  by  the 
absolution  he  thereby  secured,  gained  an  undoubted 
victory  over  Gregory,  while  the  penance,  which  was 
performed  in  the  traditional  manner,  was  certainly 
not  calculated  to  degrade  him  in  the  eyes  of  his  con- 
temporaries. One  obstacle  which  confronts  us 
throughout  the  Middle  Ages  we  cannot  entirely 
overcome  ;  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  sympathize 
with  the  theory  of  a  "  visible  invisible  "  world, 
which  brought  the  invisible  world  into  immediate 
connexion  with  the  visible  to  an  even  greater  extent 
than  was  ever  possible  in  classical  times.  We  must, 
therefore,  confine  ourselves  to  facts,  being  careful 
to  use  the  advantage  which  such  history  as  that  of 
the  First  Crusade  will  offer  when  these  facts  are 
given  to  us  with  a  certain  epic  abundance. 

The  next  period,  covering  from  the  Crusades  to 
Rudolf  of  Hapsburg,  provides  far  greater  oppor- 
tunity for  characterization  and   individual  detail  ; 


168         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

instances  are  Frederick  Barbarossa,  Frederick  IT. 
in  particular,  Henry  IV.  if  necessary,  Bernard  of 
Clairvaux,  Alexander  III.,  and  Innocent  IV.  Even 
after  reading  the  very  detailed  work  of  Giese- 
brecht — the  seven  volumes  of  which  do  not  reach 
the  death  of  Frederick  I. — or  after  working  through 
the  three  thousand  pages  of  Albert  Hauck's  im- 
mense and  important  work  upon  the  ecclesiastical 
history  of  Germany,  we  shall,  none  the  less,  be  forced 
to  admit  that  the  medieval  world  is  essentially  alien 
to  our  comprehension,  and  that  vivid  and  realistic 
description — the  most  fruitful  part  of  our  instruc- 
tion— is  only  possible  here  to  a  very  moderate 
extent.  Formerly  the  period  of  the  Hohenstaufen 
was  regarded  as  an  excellent  opportunity  for  arousing 
patriotic  enthusiasm  and  producing  an  ethical  effect 
when  dealing  with  medieval  German  history. 
Upon  this  subject,  however,  we  have  grown  gradually 
stricter,  and  require  for  every  kind  of  historical 
narrative,  including  secondary  school  teaching,  the 
facts  as  they  actually  happened,  apart  from  any 
artificial  colouring,  and  we  are  making  a  sharper 
distinction  than  before  between  ethical  and  pathetic 
effects.  At  the  same  time  this  period  of  liistory  is 
by  no  means  lacking  in  opportunities  for  idealism, 
and  these  are  to  be  found,  as  the  term  implies,  in 
the  ideas  inspiring  the  men  of  the  period.  In  one 
respect  this  period  from  the  Crusades  to  the  Inter- 
regnum has  something  of  the  highest  ethical  value  in 
it.  Though  these  men  were  intellectually  so  narrow- 
minded,  so  uncultured,  and  so  limited,  yet  they  were 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  169 

superior  to  ourselves  in  one  point  :  they  could 
sacrifice  their  personal  comfort,  and  even  their  lives, 
to  an  idea. 

The  master's  most  difficult  task  is  probably  the 
last  period — the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages,  from 
Rudolf  of  Hapsburg  to  Luther's  declaration — and 
especially  difficult  is  the  early  portion — the  end  of 
the  thirteenth  century  and  the  whole  of  the  four- 
teenth. Here  we  should  advise  very  summary 
treatment,  in  order  that  as  much  time  as  possible 
may  be  secured  for  the  highly  important  fifteenth 
century.  In  this  case  ecclesiastical  affairs  again 
become  prominent  ;  the  problem  which  confronted 
us  in  the  Fourth  Form  here  becomes  more  serious,  as 
we  are  dealing  with  pupils  of  greater  power,  and  this 
is  a  difficulty  or  a  task  which  is  not  to  be  dismissed 
with  a  few  vague  generalities.  The  ecclesiastical 
opposition  which  divides  the  nation  at  the  present 
day  began  then,  and  the  Church  movement  of  the 
fifteenth  century  gave  it  a  form  which  is  obvious 
even  to  the  modern  schoolboy  ;  hence  we  have  to 
face  the  fact  that  we  are  teaching  pupils  of  different 
creeds — that  is  to  say,  pupils  whose  attitude  towards 
these  matters  is  very  different,  by  reason  of  their 
home  training  and  other  influences  of  the  kind. 
Often  in  teaching  for  a  considerable  period  a  Sixth 
Form,  composed  of  the  two  religious  creeds  in  equal 
proportions,  has  the  characteristic  question  occurred 
to  me,  How  can  it  be  possible  to  teach  Catholic 
and  Protestant  schoolboys  modern  history  by  pre- 
cisely   similar    methods  ?     The    answer    is    simple 


170         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

enough  :  we  are  teaching  history,  and  not  theology  ; 
but  practice  is  by  no  means  so  easy.  The  chief  law 
for  the  teacher  is  in  every  case  to  tell  the  truth, 
which,  in  practical  dealing,  implies  that  he  should 
not  implant  false  ideas.  A  second  command  con- 
tained within  the  first,  as  the  love  of  one's  neighbour 
is  implied  by  the  love  of  God,  is  to  say  no  more 
than  the  pupil  can  understand — no  more  than  is, 
or  can  become,  the  truth  to  him.  In  these  cases, 
if  anywhere,  prudence  is  the  mother  of  wisdom, 
until  the  teacher's  wisdom  becomes  the  mother  of 
his  prudence,  and  the  critical  moment  when  he 
must  remember  this  fact  does  not  occur  when 
dealing  with  the  Reformation  and  its  results,  but 
when  dealing  with  the  council  movement  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  especially  with  the  trial  of 
Huss.  My  long  experience  of  Sixth-Form  teaching 
in  a  school  where  the  two  creeds  are  represented 
has  convinced  me  that  it  is  advisable  to  say  a  few 
plain  words  to  the  Form  when  beginning  the  dis- 
cussion of  this  period.  I  usually  say  that  we  are 
now  entering  upon  a  period  when  the  existing 
opposition  between  Catholicism  and  Protestantism 
also  becomes  important  in  the  narration  of  historical 
events  ;  that  if  any  of  my  Catholic  pupils  should 
feel  themselves  offended  by  any  points  of  my 
narrative,  I  should  be  glad  if  they  would  say  so, 
and  I  would  then  lend  them  a  narrative  written  from 
the  Catholic  point  of  view,  which  they  can  read  for 
purposes  of  comparison  (for  instance,  in  the  case 
of   the  Protestant  Leo).     I   then  proceed  to  urge 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  171 

that  in  the  teaching  of  history  it  is  not  our  business 
to  discover  whether  Catholicism  or  Protestantism 
be  more  correct,  whether  Huss  or  the  majority  of 
the  Council  of  Constance,  whether  Luther  or  the 
old  Church,  were  respectively  justified  ;  our  task  is 
to  expound  to  the  best  of  our  power  what  actually 
happened.  I  then  proceed  to  the  task  of  narrative, 
and  describe  the  trial  of  Huss  as  I  have  long  ago 
conceived  it,  and  as  it  is  now  generally  regarded, 
representing  it  as  a  tragical  conflict  between  two 
forces  :  on  the  one  hand  the  majority  of  the  Council 
which  was  honestly  anxious  to  reform  the  Church, 
and  equally  anxious  to  maintain  the  principles  of  its 
fathers  and  its  dogmatic  system  ;  on  the  other  hand, 
an  individual  Christian  of  somewhat  limited  views, 
but  entirely  honourable,  who  had  seceded  from  the 
Church  unconsciously  in  virtue  of  the  principle 
"  That  the  man  commissioned  by  God  to  preach 
must  preach  unhindered  by  episcopal  or  papal 
excommunication  ";  a  man  who  was  thus  a  dan- 
gerous heretic  in  the  eyes  of  his  opponents — the 
more  so  as  in  this  and  other  points  he  declined  to 
submit  to  the  authority  of  the  Council,  the  highest 
authority  of  which  these  men  could  conceive.  I 
have  then  been  accustomed  to  conclude  by  telling 
the  Form,  whose  attentiveness  at  this  stage  is  usually 
remarkable,  that  we  are  not  called  upon  to  decide 
which  of  the  two  opposing  parties  held  the  correct 
theoretical  view,  but  that  it  is  our  business  to 
understand  this  special  fact — that  a  man  who  might 
have  saved  himself  with  a  word  preferred  to  die 


172  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

for  his  moral  convictions  because  he  could  not  con- 
scientiously pronounce  that  word  of  recantation  ; 
every  one  of  us,  whether  he  be  Catholic  or  Pro- 
testant, here  has  an  example  of  high  fidelity  to 
conviction.  I  might  add  that,  though  in  a  position 
extremely  open  to  attack,  I  have  never  experi- 
enced the  smallest  unpleasantness  arising  from  my 
historical  instruction. 

This  question  becomes  more  acute — or,  let  us  say, 
more  serious — to  the  conscientious  and  truthful 
teacher  when  he  begins  the  section  usually  known 
as  "  modern  history  "  in  a  special  sense.  The 
fact  is  obvious  at  the  outset.  A  large  number  of 
text-books,  chiefly  composed  by  Catholics,  though 
some  emanate  from  Protestant  authors,  make  the 
year  1453 — the  "  Conquest  of  Constantinople  by 
the  Ottoman  Turks  " — the  starting-point  of  modern 
history,  or  take  the  year  1492 — the  discovery  of 
America.  Either  alternative  is  demonstrably  false. 
The  conquest  of  Constantinople  is  a  highly  im- 
portant event,  but  not  universally  so  ;  the  revival 
of  humanism  by  the  scattered  Greeks  is  an  important 
influence  upon  a  movement  which  is  gradually 
fulfilling  its  purpose,  but  is,  again,  not  of  decisive 
importance  to  the  fate  of  nations.  The  discovery 
of  America  belongs  to  a  general  view  of  the  his- 
tory of  discovery,  and  will  conclude  the  history 
of  medieval  discovery  ;  it  is  not  an  epoch-making 
event,  opening  one  of  the  great  divisions  of  the 
history  of  the  world.  It  is  rather  an  occurrence 
without    immediate    influence    of    wide    effect  :    of 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  173 

importance  to  universal  history  the  new  continent 
did  not  become  until  considerably  later,  for,  though 
discovered  in  1492,  it  was  not  explored  at  that  time. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  event  which  happened  on 
October  31,  1517,  was,  in  spite  of  its  apparent 
insignificance,  to  dominate  succeeding  centuries 
until  the  present  time,  and  to  determine  the  life  of 
individuals  and  of  European  nations  ;  we  refer  to 
the  words  of  Thomas  Carlyle  upon  this  subject — one 
of  the  most  far-sighted  historical  observers  of  the 
nineteenth  century.*  To  adopt  this  wholly  prac- 
tical and  objective  standpoint  for  "  modern  history  " 
for  fear  of  confusing  one  phantom  with  another, 
may  lead  us  scientifically  upon  the  wrong  path,  and 
is  cowardice  unworthy  of  the  school  and  of  its 
members.  We  must  not  consider  the  matter  as 
indifferent.  Historical  teaching  in  schools,  as  every- 
where, should,  like  the  mathematical  or  natural 
sciences,  implant  respect  for  facts — that  is,  develop 
the  sense  of  truth — and  thus  quietly  oppose  that 
untruthfulness  and  that  system  of  lies  and  equivoca- 
tions which  is  adopted  for  purposes  of  compromise 

*  The  History  of  Frederick  II.  of  Prussia,  vol.  i.,  p.  208,  in  the 
German  translation  :  "  The  Reformation  was  the  great  event  of 
that  sixteenth  century.  As  a  man  forwarded  that  movement, 
or  was  idle  and  hindered  its  effects,  so  he  can  claim  to  be  remem- 
bered or  forgotten  in  our  age."  The  whole  passage  must  be  read, 
though  from  the  historical  standpoint  we  cannot  entirely  agree 
with  its  one-sided  and  uncompromising  Protestantism.  Thus 
it  is  clear  that  this  event  brought  a  new  intellectual  principle  into 
the  world,  which  influenced  the  lives  of  individuals  and  nations, 
and  must  therefore  take  a  prominent  place  in  historical  teaching. 


174         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

and  convenience,  and  has  been  widely  disseminated. 
The  Protestant  teacher  will  be  well  advised,  and 
should,  indeed,  prefer  to  bring  forward  the  great 
and  pure  personalities  of  the  Catholic  Church — men 
such  as  Contarini  or  Hadrian  VI.  ;  even  the  Jesuit 
Order  should  not  be  caricatured,  and  wherever  the 
teacher  finds  readiness  to  sacrifice  self  for  an  idea, 
the  sacrifice  should  be  duly  emphasized  ;  it  will  be 
most  advisable  for  him  to  remind  his  pupils  that  it 
was  not  only  the  Roman  Church  that  burnt  or 
tortured  men  of  an  alien  creed. 

At  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  our  historical 
standpoint  undergoes  a  change  ;  modern  history 
can  no  longer  be  entirely  treated  as  German  history, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  if  it  does  not 
become  "  world  history,"  yet  it  must  be  handled 
from  a  European  standpoint.  This  statement  is 
especially  true  of  the  history  of  the  Reformation — 
the  foundation  of  all  later  history — and  in  Germany 
we  must  not  descend  to  the  level  of  English  or  of 
French  historical  teaching.  We  now  propose  to 
give  some  indications  concerning  this  last  period  of 
our  progress  which  will  deal  with  the  distribution  of 
our  matter  and  the  varying  amount  of  detail  that 
should  be  given.  The  general  divisions  are  as 
follows  :  1517-1648,  1648-1789,  1789-1871 ;  and  each 
of  these  three  periods,  as  we  shall  see,  will  naturally 
fall  into  three  sections. 

The  first  period — that  of  the  religious  struggles — 
is  subdivided  into  three  sections— 1517-1555,  1555- 
1618,    1618-1648.     The    first    of    these— a    detailed 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  175 

account  of  the  German  Reformation — will  be 
assigned  to  the  last  three  months  in  the  Lower 
Sixth.  Under  favourable  circumstances  it  is  just 
possible  that  a  teacher  may  be  able  to  do  more,  and 
to  go  through  the  history  of  the  non-German  coun- 
tries from  1517  to  1618,  though  we  are  ready  to  add 
this  to  the  work  allotted  to  the  Upper  Sixth.  The 
question  is  of  minor  importance  ;  it  is  only  neces- 
sary that  the  pupil  should  clearly  understand  the 
fate  of  the  new  principle  in  the  other  European 
countries — Italy,  Spain,  France,  England,  etc.  An 
account  must  also  be  given  of  Spanish  history,  in- 
cluding the  revolt  of  the  Netherlands,  to  1609  ;  of 
French  history  to  the  death  of  Henry  IV.  in  1610  ; 
of  English  and  Scotch  history  to  the  accession  of  the 
second  Stuart  in  1625 ;  and  of  German  history  until 
1618  ;  the  Reformation  in  Scandinavia  can  be  re- 
served until  the  appearance  of  Gustavus  Adolphus. 
This  arrangement  is  advantageous  because  it  will 
enable  us  to  resume  the  history  of  Germany,  and 
continue  the  study  of  it  uninterruptedly  from  1555  to 
1648  ;  we  should  advise  that  the  whole  of  German 
history  from  1555  to  1618  be  taken  in  one  lesson — 
that  is,  in  barest  outline.  If  anyone  cannot  under- 
stand the  reason  for  this  procedure,  he  will  find  it  in 
the  first  volume  of  Moritz  Ritter.  It  is  far  more  im- 
portant that  the  Form  should  gain  a  clear  idea  of  the 
great  European  crisis  in  that  vast  historical  struggle 
during  the  ninth  decade  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  should,  for  instance,  correctly  understand  the 
events  of  1588.     Otherwise  the  pupils  will  be  unable 


17G         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

to  appreciate  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  where  more 
detailed  narrative  is  possible,  though  the  military 
operations  should  not  be  unduly  elaborated,  and 
certainly  not  in  the  last  period — from  1632  to  1648. 
The  history  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  is  chiefly  a 
history  of  Germany  from  1618-1648,  and  will  be 
followed  by  that  of  the  other  European  countries. 
English  history  in  detail  to  January  30,  1649  ; 
the  execution  of  Charles  I.  ;  the  Netherlands  the 
rising  Power,  and  Spain  the  decadent  Power ;  a 
summary  of  Italian  history  ;  France,  taken  last,  but 
in  fuller  detail,  as  here,  in  contrast  to  contemporary 
developments  in  England,  the  absolutism  of  the 
Crown  is  upon  the  rise,  and  will  dominate  the 
following  period.  By  beginning  at  this  point — 
French  history  from  the  death  of  Henry  IV.  to  the 
accession  of  Louis  XIV. — we  again  secure  the 
advantage  of  a  connected  account  of  French  history 
from  1610-1700 — a  procedure  advisable,  as  France 
is  to  be  the  dominant  Power  in  the  following  period. 
The  second  period  of  modern  history — 1648-1789 
— falls  no  less  easily  into  three  periods ;  from  the 
Peace  of  Westphalia  to  the  death  of  Charles  II.  of 
Spain  ;  from  thence  to  the  accession  of  Frederick  II. 
of  Prussia  ;  and  from  thence  to  the  summoning  of 
the  States-General  to  Versailles— 1648-1700,  1700- 
1740,  1740-1789.  The  first  of  these  sections  is 
usually  known  as  the  age  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  in 
describing  this  it  is  advisable  or  necessary  to  refer 
to  the  social  or  economic  aspects  of  it  which  have 
previously  been  turned  to  account.     These  include 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  177 

the  transformation  of  a  strong  feudalism  to  a  strict 
monarchical  government,  the  reform  of  the  judica- 
ture, the  financial  administration,  the  formation  of  a 
standing  army,  the  furtherance  of  commerce  and  in- 
dustry, the  literary  glorification  and  the  self-worship 
of  the  monarchy,  the  taming  of  the  nobility,  etc. 
Such  are  the  true  elements  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV., 
and  it  will  have  been  already  observed,  with  reference 
to  the  Huguenot  persecution,  that  bigotry  and 
fanaticism  are  bad  influences  upon  administration. 
These  influences  of  general  culture  are  far  more 
valuable  and  important  at  this  point  than  the  details 
of  military  or  diplomatic  entanglements.  French 
history  will  be  succeeded  by  the  English  history  of 
this  important  period — from  the  death  of  Charles  I. 
to  the  death  of  William  III. — in  other  words,  to 
the  consolidation  of  the  revolution  of  1689,  ending 
in  1700.  This  period  of  history  must  also  be 
worked  through  in  some  detail ;  it  is  a  period  of 
English  history  of  universal  importance,  and  displays 
men  and  institutions  of  a  character  so  original  that 
the  pupils  in  the  upper  Forms  of  any  secondary 
school  should  know  more  of  it  than  a  few  scattered 
dates.  We  Germans  understand  English  history 
better  than  that  of  any  other  nation,  for  the  reason 
that  it  is  inspired  by  a  Teutonic  spirit  common  to 
us  both,  and  this  period — 1648-1700 — is  easily 
intelligible,  whereas  the  following  period — the  reign 
of  Anne  and  the  four  Georges — is  not  of  a  character 
to  be  narrated  in  detail.  As  regards  German  history 
from  1648  to    1700,  I  feel  bound  to  observe  that 

12 


178  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

it  is  usually  presented  to  schoolboys  in  the  blackest 
colours,  and  the  House  of  Hapsburg  and  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire  both  fare  very  badly.  But  we 
conceive  that  the  following  points  should  be  strongly 
emphasized  :  in  the  first  place,  the  Emperor  was, 
unfortunately,  obliged  to  oppose  France  and  the 
Turks  simultaneously,  yet  during  the  second  half 
or  the  last  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century  he 
was  able  definitely  to  shatter  the  Turkish  power  ; 
secondly,  a  further  great  political  success  belongs  to 
this  period — the  creation  of  the  State  of  Branden- 
burg-Prussia. In  describing  the  reign  of  the  great 
Elector  there  can  be  no  possible  objection  to  treating 
his  domestic  administration  in  greater  detail  than 
his  wars,  and  doing  full  justice  to  the  economic  and 
social  importance  of  the  miles  perpetuus. 

The  second  section  of  the  second  main  period — 
from  1700  to  1740 — began  with  the  two  great  wars — 
the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession  and  the  Northern 
War.  Here  we  must  inevitably  devote  some  atten- 
tion to  the  military  affairs — to  the  seats  of  war  and 
the  individual  campaigns.  Both  wars  can  only  be 
understood  from  the  European  standpoint,  and  must 
be  treated  as  European  events  ;  their  special 
German  interest  must  be  considered,  but  treated  as 
a  secondary  matter.  We  only  refer  to  the  point  in 
view  of  the  current  opinion  that  everything  should 
be  treated  as  German  history.  Both  wars — and 
especially  the  treaties  which  brought  them  to  an 
end — provide  a  welcome  opportunity  for  explaining 
the  territorial  conditions  and  the  balance  of  power 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  179 

within  a  continent.  The  Northern  War  thus  be- 
comes supplementary  to  the  Spanish  War ;  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  world,  the  history  of  Scandi- 
navia and  of  Russia  with  Poland  acquires  strong 
interest,  and  the  teacher  is  thus  obliged  to  devote 
one  lesson  at  least  to  an  explanation  of  the  geo- 
graphical conditions  on  which  the  Russian  power 
is  based  ;  he  will  then  proceed  to  give  a  short  outline 
of  the  historical  development  of  this  empire,  and 
will  find  a  further  opportunity  for  comparing  the 
social  and  economic  developments  with  those  of 
other  countries.  It  is,  indeed,  most  important  that 
boys  who  are  to  receive  the  education  of  scholars 
and  to  occupy  leading  positions  in  the  State  should 
be  given  more  detailed  information  concerning  the 
Slavonic  nationalities.  As  regards  the  teacher's 
preparation,  he  will  find  all  that  he  requires  in 
part  2,  section  i.,  of  Bernhardi's  Geschichte  Russlands 
und  der  europaischen  Politik  1814-1831,  pp.  197-436 
(Leipsic,  1874).  This  work  is  the  more  to  be  recom- 
mended, as  so  excellent  an  outline  would  not  naturally 
be  sought  in  the  second  volume  of  a  history  of 
Russia  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  so-called 
Northern  War  gains  a  certain  epic  character  and 
interest  from  the  highly  entertaining  personality  of 
Charles  XII.  His  career  will  be  pursued  until  its 
close — that  is,  until  the  time  when  he  was  "  treacher- 
ously "  shot  down,  as  the  story  goes,  which  still 
finds  credence  in  histories  of  reputation.  Here  an 
opportunity  arises  of  the  kind  that  should  not  be 
sought,    but   should   be   used   when   it   occurs — an 

12—2 


180  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

opportunity  of  showing  the  mature  pupil  the  nature 
of  popular  rumour  and  sensational  stories,  and  the 
difference  between  these  and  serious  history.  Charles 
met  Ins  death  by  a  shot  from  the  fortress  he  was 
besieging,  as  has  been  indisputably  proved  by  two 
examinations  of  Iris  skeleton,  and  five  minutes  will 
be  well  spent  in  the  application  of  historical  criticism 
to  tradition.  The  materials  are  to  be  found  in 
Fryxell's  work  upon  the  history  of  Charles  XII., 
which  has  been  translated  into  German,  and  whence 
the  idea  passed  to  such  popular  text-books  as 
Jager's  History  of  the  World,  hi.  476  f. 

When  the  treaties  of  1713,  1714,  1719,  1720,  1721, 
and  their  results  have  been  explained,  the  rest  of 
the  section — from  1721  to  1740 — need  occupy  but  one 
lesson,  and  can  be  handled  in  an  outline  sketch, 
which  method  I  distinguish  from  narrative.  Per- 
haps here,  and  not  when  dealing  with  1648 — as  the 
Prussian  syllabus  advises — is  the  best  opportunity 
to  give  a  general  view  of  the  European  State 
system,  either  just  before  the  Peace  of  Vienna  in 
1735  or  as  fixed  by  it.  At  the  same  time  an 
opportunity  remains  to  devote  some  time  to  special 
details — such,  for  instance,  as  the  financial  methods 
of  John  Law — when  dealing  with  France.  Here 
useful  information  may  be  given  upon  the  economic 
meaning  of  money,  credit,  bankruptcy,  and  collapse. 

We  assume  from  personal  experience  that  this 
date — -1740 — can  be  reached,  even  though  the  half- 
year's  work  is  begun  at  1555,  and  not  at  1648  ;  hence 
the  second  half-year  in   the  Upper  Sixth  remains 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  181 

for  the  period  from  1740  to  1871.  The  time  will  be 
adequate,  as  this  portion  of  history  has  already  been 
treated  in  some  detail  in  the  Lower  Fifth — a  fact 
which  considerably  facilitates  instruction  in  the 
highest  Form,  though  the  method  may  be  essentially 
different.  The  period  from  1740  to  1789 — the  third 
section  of  the  second  main  period  of  modern  history 
— the  age  of  Frederick  the  Great — should  be  intro- 
duced by  devoting  three  or  four  lessons  to  a  general 
view  of  Brandenburg-Prussian  history,  and  to  a 
revision  of  earlier  events.  This  is  to  be  a  review, 
and  not  a  detailed  revision,  and  we  repeat  that  our 
review  should  be  handled  from  a  German  or  Euro- 
pean standpoint  with  equal  detail  or  brevity, 
whether  the  school  belong  to  Bavaria,  Wurtemberg, 
or  Prussia.  As  regards  the  details  of  Frederick 
the  Great's  history  we  need  say  but  little  ;  false- 
hood and  flattery  should  be  avoided  ;  the  truth, 
for  instance,  should  not  be  concealed  that  the 
education  of  the  great  man  was  highly  deficient  and 
partially  misguided  ;  the  fact  should  also  be  re- 
gretted that  Frederick  William  I.  has  been  usually 
described  as  a  half -mad  tyrant  ;  but  this  should 
not  lead  us  to  pass  the  opposite  boundary  of  his- 
torical truth  in  dealing  with  so  curious  a  mixture  of 
contradictions.  The  military  history  should  be 
kept  in  strict  chronological  order  by  summers  and 
winters  upon  the  method  of  Thucydides  and  his 
imitator  Archenholz,  and  the  various  seats  of  war 
should  be  carefully  distinguished.  In  narrating  battles 
there  should  be  no  display  of  amateur  strategy  or 


182  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

learned  expositions  upon  right  and  left  wings ;  in 
every  important  battle  some  pregnant  feature 
should  be  emphasized,  and  for  this  purpose,  as  we 
have  said,'  Carlyle's  biography  of  Frederick  the 
Great  is  eminently  suitable,  though  historical 
philistinism  is  not  likely  to  agree  with  his  methods  of 
writing  history.  The  history  of  Frederick  should 
be  related  consecutively  up  to  the  Peace  of  Huberts- 
burg;  the  difficult  section — from  1763  to  1789 — 
should  be  more  briefly  treated,  but  not  too  scantily. 
Our  arrangement  would  be  as  follows  : 

1.  Germany. 

(a)  Prussian  section — half  of  the  reign  of 
Frederick. 

(6)  Austria — Maria  Theresia  ;  Joseph  II. 's 
reforms  in  the  hereditary  States. 

(c)  Transition  from  this  point  to  his  attempts 
at  reform  within  the  empire.  Tins 
will  provide  an  opportunity  of  de- 
scribing the  condition  of  the  empire  (cf. 
Lower  Fifth,  above),  the  political  dis- 
ruption of  Germany  and  its  intellectual 
revival. 

2.  Russia,  Turkey,  Poland  (first  partition). 

3.  The  North,  Denmark  (Struensee),  Sweden 
(coup  d'etat  of  1772). 

4.  Similar  despotic  reforms  upon  the  other  side — 
Portugal,  Naples,  Spain,  the  rise  of  the  Jesuit 
Order,  and  the  general  character  of  the  period  as  an 
age  of  enlightenment. 

5.  In    conclusion,     England    and    France — their 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  183 

respective  domestic  developments,  their  maritime 
rivalry ;  the  struggles  in  East  India  and  North 
America — the  former  briefly,  the  latter  in  greater 
detail,  as  being  the  early  history  of  the  United 
States.  Hence,  in  transition,  to  the  history  of 
France  under  Louis  XVI.,  as  preliminary  to  the 
French  Revolution. 

Thus  we  have  reached  the  third  period — 1789- 
1871 — about  the  end  of  October,  and  if  all  goes  well, 
we  have  yet  four  months  at  our  disposal.  As  we 
approach  modern  times,  the  teacher's  task  becomes 
more  difficult,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the  oppres- 
sive amount  of  information  with  which  we  can  only 
grapple  by  preferential  choice  and  by  somewhat 
unequal  treatment.  We  offer  a  few  remarks  upon 
this  subject.  The  sections  are  1789-1815,  1815- 
1848,  1848-1871. 

In  dealing  with  the  history  of  the  Revolution 
period  proper — from  1789  to  1804 — it  will  be  advis- 
able not  to  go  too  deeply  into  the  causes  of  the  Revo- 
lution, which  are  extremely  complicated,  but  to 
relate  its  progress  with  all  the  completeness  possible 
until  the  events  of  Thermidor.  Military  events  will 
be  recounted  in  close  connexion  with  the  text-book, 
which  it  is  to  be  hoped  may  be  an  intelligible  one — 
without  too  much  detail.  We  shall  devote  more 
time  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Directory  and  to  the 
reaction  of  the  Revolution  monarchy  in  France  upon 
German  affairs.  For  the  period  from  1804  to  1812 
military  events  and  the  magic  personality  of 
Napoleon  become  prominent ;   at  the  same  time  a 


184         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

word  should  be  devoted  to  the  beneficial  effects, 
mediate  and  immediate,  of  this  tyranny.  In  passing, 
we  may  observe  that  a  thorough  acquaintance  with 
this  period — 1789-1815 — will  enable  our  Sixth-Form 
boys  far  more  easily  to  understand  contemporary 
history  than  a  bare  and  superficial  outline  of  the 
period  from  1871  to  1900,  though  something  of  the 
kind  must  be  given. 

Here,  as  throughout  modern  and  contemporary 
history,  the  teacher  must  be  careful  to  avoid  ex- 
cessive detail  about  strategy  and  tactics ;  the  pro- 
gress of  wars  will  be  made  clear  by  accentuating  the 
turning-points  at  the  different  seats  of  war,  and 
the  pupil  must  be  accustomed  to  read  his  atlas  from 
the  historical  point  of  view ;  the  atlas  need  not 
necessarily  be  a  so-called  historical  one.  Adequate 
time  must  be  reserved  for  the  history  from  1813  to 
1814 — especially  the  former  year — -and  in  the  latter 
case  military  details  must  be  given  with  some  com- 
pletion ;  the  school  library  should  be  able  to  pro- 
vide some  help  at  this  point,  and  instruction  may 
well  be  supplemented  by  home  reading.* 

The  second  section — 1815-1848 — can  be  briefly 
treated,  rather  in  outline  than  in  narrative,  with 
closer  reference  to  the  text-book  than  in  dealing  with 

*  I  can  recommend  Die  Befrehmgskreig,  1813-1815.  Aus 
Urlcunden,  Brief  en  und  nachtraglichen  Aufzeichnungen  von 
Augenzeugen  beider  Parteien  dargestellt,  by  Willi  Capeller,  2  vols. 
(Berlin,  H.  Paetel.  1903) ;  also  Der  deutsch-franzosische  Krieg, 
1870-71.  by  Hans  Vollmer  in  the  same  series,  and  under  the  same 
editorship. 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  185 

the  previous  period.  We  shall  begin  with  an 
accurate  picture  of  the  territorial  conditions  in 
Europe  produced  by  the  Vienna  treaties,  and 
explain  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  five  Great 
Powers ;  brief  reference  will  be  made  to  the  other 
States,  after  which  we  shall  go  through  the  most 
important  events  in  chronological  order,  as  they 
occurred  in  the  several  countries.  Well-informed 
teachers  may  here  refer  to  the  Customs  Union,  as 
the  seed  of  German  unity,  and  explain  the  services 
of  Frederick  William  III.  and  of  his  advisers. 
Fortunately,  we  have  now  abandoned  the  stand- 
point of  Rotteck  or  Hagen.  The  year  1830  is  a 
halting-place  which  has  lost  its  importance  for 
teaching  purposes  by  reason  of  further  develop- 
ments, and  it  will  be  enough  if  we  briefly  outline 
the  general  result  of  the  "  great  week." 

The  opening  of  the  third  section — 1848-1871 — is 
marked  by  the  great  crisis  of  the  century  between 
1848  and  1852  ;  this  is  a  subject  extraordinarily 
difficult  of  treatment,  by  reason  of  the  interaction 
of  widely  remote  events,  which  seem  to  defy  all 
efforts  to  provide  a  general  view.  I  can  but  refer 
the  teacher  who  reads  these  observations  to  my  own 
attempt  at  the  solution  of  this  problem  in  the 
Abriss  der  Neuesten  Geschichte  (Wiesbaden :  successors 
of  C.  G.  Kunze,  2nd  edition,  1889,  with  appendix  to 
1900) — an  attempt  upon  which  is  based  the  section 
referring  to  this  subject  in  the  later  editions  of 
Herbst's  popular  text-book.  My  efforts  have  been 
based — if,    as   Lessing   says,    I    may   boast    of   my 


186         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

industry — upon  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  facts 
and  upon  long  efforts  to  co-ordinate  them — which 
is  more  than  I  can  say  for  the  counter  proposals 
which  certain  critics  have  made. 

The  period  from  1852  to  1863  offers  fewer  diffi- 
culties ;  the  most  important  events  can  be  taken  in 
connexion  with  the  territorial  changes  in  the  East  and 
in  Italy,  and  an  outline  given  of  the  two  wars  winch 
produced  tins  change  in  the  map  ;  the  tyranny  of 
Nicholas  I.  of  Russia  and  of  Napoleon  III.  will  then 
be  more  clearly  and  effectively  explained.  Finally, 
we  shall  reach  Germany,  where,  after  reference  to 
its  material  progress,  we  shall  emphasize  the  un- 
satisfactory and  dangerous  nature  of  the  political 
situation  about  1863,  with  reference  to  the  Federal 
Constitution,  to  Austria  and  to  Prussia.  The  critical 
year  is  1863,  and  to  this  full  weight  must  be 
given,  including  the  crisis  of  the  domestic  quarrel 
in  Prussia,  the  meeting  of  the  German  Princes,  the 
war  of  succession  in  Schleswig-Holstein,  and  the 
general  German  question  which  now  enters  the 
stage  of  decision.  Thereupon  will  follow  the  new 
birth  and  remoulding  of  Germany  between  1863 
and  1871 ;  adequate  time  must  be  reserved  for  this 
narrative,  which  is  by  no  means  difficult,  as  the 
course  of  events  is  very  clear,  and  as  the  war 
of  1866  can  now  be  impartially  considered,  for 
we  have  long  surmounted  the  chief  crisis.  The 
narrative  should  accentuate  the  following  points  : 

1.  That  the  life  of  a  great  nation  such  as  ours  is 
a  matter  of  vast  importance. 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  187 

2.  That  the  union  of  a  great  nation  to  form  one 
State  has  never  been  secured  by  the  peaceful  co- 
operation of  its  component  parts — tantce  molis  erat 
Romanam  condere  gentem. 

3.  That  the  military  struggle  between  Austria 
and  Prussia,  between  the  old  Germany  of  the  federal 
days  and  the  new  Germany — a  civil  or  fratricidal 
war — implied  the  removal  of  the  stagnation  which 
would  have  been  death  to  the  nation. 

4.  That  it  was  an  act  of  Divine  providence  that 
the  lessons  of  history  and  the  recognition  of  the 
pitiable  conditions  from  1815  to  1863  were  forced 
upon  the  old  Germany  by  the  new  Prussian  State 
and  its  slowly  growing  strength,  and  not  by  a 
triumphant  France. 

As  regards  the  reconciling  war  with  France  in 
1870  and  its  great  result,  which  is  the  conclusion  of 
historical  instruction  proper,  we  need  say  nothing. 
The  coldest  teacher  will  here  be  inspired,  and  the 
historian  can  here  find  the  highest  profit  and  the 
deepest  satisfaction  from  his  preparatory  studies  ; 
he  can  leave  the  eloquence  of  facts  to  plead  their 
own  cause. 

As  regards  the  lecture  to  the  Form  and  the  presen- 
tation of  the  subject-matter,  we  have  a  few  words 
to  say  concerning  revision  in  this  highest  stage.  It 
is  a  difficult  task  for  the  teacher  in  either  of  its  two 
respects — the  revision  of  the  previous  lesson  or  the 
revision  of  the  whole  sections  which  have  been 
worked  through. 

Great  importance  is  now  attached  to  a  connected 


188  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

reproduction  of  the  previous  lesson  by  the  pupil  in 
his  own  words.  Of  this  we  have  already  spoken. 
To  the  previous  quotation  of  the  Prussian  syllabus 
of  1901  regarding  the  reproduction  of  what  has  been 
learnt,  I  should  wish  to  add  the  words,  "  So  far  as 
this  reproduction  can  subserve  a  grasp  of  historical 
connexion  and  its  impression  upon  the  pupils' 
minds."  We  repeat  the  fact  that  this  exercise  must 
further  the  purpose  of  historical  teaching,  and  is 
not  merely  to  be  a  linguistic  training,  for  it  is  not 
the  business  of  the  history  master  to  teach  pupils 
the  use  of  their  own  language.  All  that  can  be  re- 
quired is  that  pupils  should  learn  to  express  them- 
selves intelligently  and  with  some  fluency  upon  the 
historical  matter  that  has  been  already  worked 
through.  The  idea  that  "  historical  lectures " 
should  be  prepared  and  delivered  by  the  pupils  is 
one  of  the  many  ideas  which  would  be  excellent  if 
we  had  more  time  at  our  disposal.  This,  however, 
is  the  business  of  the  University  and  its  historical 
seminary.  Again,  in  the  case  of  revision  "  in  in- 
formal language,"  when  successive  pupils  are  called 
upon  to  give  a  connected  account  of  the  previous 
lesson,  we  must  be  careful  to  avoid  rigidity  of 
practice  ;  and  the  more  difficult  questions  will  be 
better  revised  by  way  of  question  and  answer  if  full 
comprehension  is  to  be  secured.  Constitutional  and 
economic  history  must  certainly  be  thus  treated.  And 
the  teacher  will  soon  discover  that  even  in  the  highest 
Form  but  few  pupils  possess  the  capacity  clearly  to 
grasp  and  to  repeat  an  historical  sequence  of  events. 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  189 

The  lecture  to  the  Form  and  the  revision  from 
hour  to  hour  obliges  the  pupil  to  work  through  his 
text-book  and  to  learn  its  contents,  and  is  primarily 
intended  to  secure  a  connected  understanding  of 
the  course  of  events.  Similarly,  the  revision  of 
longer  sections,  as  we  have  previously  urged,  is 
intended  to  enable  the  pupil  to  use  the  material 
he  has  acquired,  and  to  introduce  him  to  the  task 
of  applying  historical  knowledge.  This  process  was 
begun  in  the  Third  Form  and  continued  throughout 
the  successive  Forms  ;  it  is  obvious  that  the  practice 
can  be  made  far  more  beneficial  in  a  Sixth  Form. 
Once  again  we  must  emphasize  the  fact  that  in  our 
experience  these  revisions  are  one  of  the  most 
difficult  tasks  which  can  confront  the  teacher,  or 
which  he  can  place  before  himself.  The  lines  upon 
which  they  can  be  conducted  are  naturally  infinite  ; 
some  of  these  we  propose  to  set  down  in  the 
appendix,  hoping  that  in  this  way  we  shall  better 
deal  with  this  important  subject  than  by  developing 
a  theory  of  these  general  revisions.  In  this  practice 
— and  especially  with  the  Sixth  Form — we  must  be 
careful  to  avoid  undue  profundity.  But  to  return 
to  what  we  said  at  the  outset,  the  whole  of  our  in- 
struction, even  in  this  highest  stage,  is  merely  of 
a  preparatory  character  ;  we  are  still  a  long  distance 
from  what  was  formerly  known  as  the  philosophy 
of  history  or  the  biology  of  mankind — to  use  the 
phrase  of  Thomas  Buckle  in  his  History  of  Civiliza- 
tion in  England  (1865) — a  book  once  famous,  and 
now   unduly   neglected.     It   is   at   the   same    time 


190  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

essential  to  the  preparatory  nature  of  our  instruc- 
tion that  the  pupil's  gaze  should  be  directed  upon 
such  higher  objects  as  are  visible  at  a  distance. 
He  must  understand  that  every  piece  of  knowledge 
is  intended  to  lead  to  further  knowledge,  and  that 
every  stage  of  acquisition  is  but  preliminary  to 
further  acquisition ;  he  must  realize  the  further 
implication  that  every  advance  to  a  higher  stage  of 
knowledge  implies  higher  claims  upon  the  moral 
powers  of  mankind. 

In  our  instruction  we  reject  all  preaching,  all 
so-called  stimulus  of  patriotism  and  of  other  virtues 
of  the  kind  ;  at  every  step  we  demand  that  our  in- 
struction should  be,  above  all  things,  true,  and  should 
avoid  both  the  exaggerations  of  the  flatterer  and 
the  optimist,  and  the  pessimism  of  would-be  im- 
partiality. At  the  same  time  we  do  not  wish  to 
imply  that  secondary-school  instruction  in  history 
should  not  in  every  case  deal  with  the  subject  from 
the  standpoint  of  freedom  and  responsibility  ;  we 
insist  that  what  is  morally  hateful  or  despicable 
should  be  characterized  as  such.  Tout  savoir  est 
tout  yardonner  is  a  favourite  saying  in  our  effemi- 
nate times ;  we,  however,  would  point  out  to 
our  historical  teachers  by  way  of  conclusion  that 
their  work  can  only  be  fruitful  when  their  pupils 
learn  the  habit  of  strict  judgment  upon  ethical 
matters,  and  that  we  would  rather  see  a  teacher 
overstep  the  golden  mean  in  the  manner  of  old 
Schlosser  than  in  that  of  Ranke.  We  refer  here 
to  the  general  spirit  in   which  history  should  be 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  191 

taught.  Occasions  will  always  present  themselves 
for  a  call  upon  the  moral  judgment  of  the  pupils 
—  such  occasions  as  the  secession  of  Henry  IV., 
the  trial  of  Mary  Stuart,  the  execution  of  Michael 
Servetus,  or  of  the  Due  d'Enghien. 

Here  we  might  obviously  touch  upon  many 
incidental  points — the  possibility  of  a  general  re- 
vision of  any  one  period  from  special  points  of  view, 
the  question  as  to  how  far  home  reading  can,  or 
should,  support  Form  instruction  ;  we  might  give 
literary  information  for  the  teacher's  preparation  of 
special  periods  ;  we  might  express  our  wishes  with 
reference  to  the  training  of  the  embryo  history 
teacher  at  the  University  ;  we  must  not,  however, 
be  led  astray  by  questions,  the  discussion  of  which 
would  be  of  no  immediate  advantage  to  our 
readers. 

We  have  been  unable  to  give  information  upon 
any  special  art  or  method  which  can  facilitate  the 
burden  of  historical  instruction  and  make  it  easier 
than  it  naturally  is.  A  principal  subject  of  in- 
struction it  is  not  ;  but  a  subordinate  subject  when 
badly  taught  can  easily  become  a  primary  source  of 
evil,  like  any  other.  On  the  other  hand,  any  sub- 
ordinate subject  when  well  handled,  and,  therefore, 
good  historical  teaching,  can  compensate  and  repair 
many  deficiencies  and  failures  apparent  in  the 
other  subjects  of  school  instruction.  Should  the 
teacher  who  is  true  to  himself,  find  to  his  grief 
that  his  instruction  is  far  removed  from  his  own 


192         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

ideal,  he  may,  none  the  less,  comfort  himself  by 
the  contemplation  of  what  is  achieved  within  the 
school  by  the  co-operation  of  the  various  forces 
there  operative  ;  this  result,  even  in  our  own  sub- 
ject, is  by  no  means  small.  Even  if  we  assume,  as  we 
should  do,  teachers,  text-books,  and  scholars  of  only 
average  merit,  yet  the  achievement  of  these  scholars 
is  by  no  means  light.  One  advantage  they  have  had, 
and  one  which  gives  the  pupil  of  the  classical  school 
an  advantage  over  the  pupil  of  the  modern  school, 
though  in  other  respects  they  run  upon  parallel 
lines  ;  he  has  had  nine  years'  close  training  in  two 
important  civilized  languages,  and  has  been  reading 
graduated  authors  of  first-hand  historical  im- 
portance ;  he  has  learnt  to  perceive,  and  to  a  certain 
extent  to  feel,  by  experience  the  connexion  of  modern 
life  and  thought  with  the  civilization  of  the  remote 
past ;  he  has  followed  German  literature  from  the 
fable  and  the  fairy-tale  to  the  pitch  of  high  tragedy, 
and  has  thus  gained  a  glimpse  of  our  national 
growth  ;  he  has  learnt  one  or  two  modern  languages 
so  far  as  to  understand  the  identity  and  the  dis- 
similarity of  German,  French,  and  English 
nationalism,  and  has  thereby  learnt  both  national 
pride  and  national  modesty  ;  twice  has  he  travelled 
through  the  centuries,  the  nations,  and  the  ages, 
has  seen  and  known  many  men  and  towns,  like 
Odysseus,  and  has  secured  a  knowledge  of  the  most 
important  facts  which  will  serve  as  landmarks  in 
any  prosecution  of  his  studies.  With  the  guidance 
and  support  of  religion  and  religious  instruction  he 


THE  HIGHER  STAGES  193 

has  come  to  understand  the  idea  of  humanity, 
which  from  an  empty  phrase  has  become  a  truth  and 
an  accomplished  fact  ;  these  forces  and  influences 
have  finally  implanted  a  sense  of  duty  and  a  con- 
sciousness, or  the  germs  thereof,  compelling  him 
to  admit  that  his  life  is  inevitably  devoted  to  a 
fatherland  and  a  nation  which  existed  before  any 
one  of  its  members,  and  will  exist  long  after  they 
have  gone — in  a  word,  he  will  understand  his 
position  as  a  member  of  the  human  race. 


13 


APPENDIX 

Lecture  to  a  Third  Form. 

(The  Battle  of  Cannse  has  been  narrated  in  the  pre- 
ceding lesson,  and  the  characteristic  points  repeated. 
The  master  continues.) 

A  Roman  statesman  who  took  part  in  this  war, 
and  was  probably  present  at  the  disaster  of  Cannae — 
M.  Porcius  Cato — tells  us  that  in  his  time  there  was  a 
general  belief  that  on  the  day  following  his  tre- 
mendous victory  Hannibal  was  urged  by  one  of  his 
generals  to  march  at  once  upon  Rome,  as  he  would 
certainly  find  the  city  in  panic,  and  its  capture 
would  be  easy.  "  In  five  days,"  Maharbal,  the 
cavalry  leader,  is  said  to  have  asserted,  "  you  will 
be  dining  in  the  Capitol."  Hannibal  is  said  to  have 
answered  that  he  would  consider  the  proposal,  and 
some  days  later,  after  securing  the  plunder  and  the 
prisoners,  and  burying  the  dead,  he  returned  to  the 
subject  of  his  own  accord,  but  the  cavalry  general 
replied  "  that  it  was  now  too  late,  as  the  news  had 
already  reached  Rome." 

Hannibal,  no  doubt,  had  his  own  reasons,  of  which 
we  shall  speak  later,  for  rejecting  this  advice.  He 
would  no  more  have  been  able  to  take  Rome  by  a 

194 


APPENDIX  195 

sudden  surprise  than  the  Germans  could  have  sur- 
prised Paris  in  1870,  after  the  Battle  of  Sedan  ;  so 
much  is  obvious  from  information  given  by  the 
classical  historians  concerning  the  attitude  of  the 
Roman  government  when  the  news  of  the  defeat 
arrived. 

At  the  same  time,  the  first  impression  was  so  great 
that  every  one  seemed  paralyzed.  We  have  already 
heard  that  some  of  the  fugitives  from  the  battle 
were  able  to  make  a  short  stay  in  Canusium.  where  a 
patriotic  woman— Busa  by  name — gave  them  the 
first  refreshment  they  received  ;  among  these  despair 
was  so  great  that  some  of  the  younger  officers  began 
to  consider  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  take 
flight  across  the  sea  to  some  king,  as  the  cause  of 
Rome  was  lost.  We  are  very  glad  to  read  that  a 
young  man  of  the  Roman  nobility — P.  Cornelius 
Scipio — displayed  a  true  Roman  and  patriotic  spirit  ; 
the  more  grievous  the  calamity,  the  more  ready  we 
should  be  to  support  our  country.  He  is  said  to 
have  confronted  these  misguided  men  with  drawn 
sword,  and  to  have  forced  them  to  swear  an  oath, 
which  he  himself  was  the  first  to  take,  never  to 
abandon  the  Republic  or  allow  anyone  else  to  do  so. 
Very  similar  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  Rome  when  the 
news  of  the  disaster  reached  that  city.  No  classical 
author  has  described  the  first  impression,  but  it 
can  easily  be  imagined  ;  all  was  lost,  both  Consuls 
had  fallen,  the  army  was  annihilated,  and  the  excite- 
ment and  panic  were  increased  by  the  terrible  details 
which   came   in   by   degrees.     Almost   every  house 

13—2 


196         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

had  some  loss  to  bewail,  and  even  more  grievous  was 
the  uncertainty  for  the  fate  of  their  relatives  in  the 
majority  of  cases  ;  hence  the  population,  and  the 
women  in  particular,  abandoned  themselves  to 
sorrow  and  to  fear.  There  was,  however,  in  Rome 
a  body  capable  of  governing  and  of  guiding  the 
ship  of  State  throughout  the  most  violent  storm  ; 
this  was  the  Senate,  and  the  two  praetors,  who  had 
remained  in  Rome,  had  no  hesitation  in  immediately 
summoning  the  Senate  to  the  Curia  Hostilia. 

We  know  how  the  Senate  was  composed  ;  it  was 
invariably  recruited  from  men  who  had  held  the 
qusestorship — a  high  and  responsible  office — and 
who  then  became  life  members  of  the  Senate,  pro- 
vided they  had  passed  the  censorship  satisfactorily. 
The  Senate  was  therefore  an  assembly  of  men  who 
had  been  elected  by  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
and  who  yet  stood  apart  from  popular  passions, 
an  assembly  of  officials  and  heads  of  ancient  families, 
who  were  accustomed  to  deliberate  calmly  and  with 
experience  ;  where  leadership,  organization,  and 
action  were  required,  as  in  the  present  instance, 
they  were  fully  equal  to  the  task.  The  necessary 
arrangements  were  speedily  made  ;  public  order 
was  restored,  public  lamentations  were  forbidden  ; 
scouts  were  sent  out  to  gather  news  and  to  see 
that  all  news  was  first  given  to  the  praetors,  lest 
undue  excitement  should  be  aroused  :  the  gates 
were  guarded  by  detachments  of  soldiers,  and  no 
one  was  allowed  to  leave  the  city.  A  letter  arrived 
from  the  Consul  Terentius,  which  revealed  the  whole 


APPENDIX  197 

extent  of  the  misfortune,  and  disastrous  news  also 
arrived  from  other  quarters,  from  Cisalpine  Gaul 
and  from  Sicily  ;  but  the  determination  of  the 
Government  had  already  taken  the  measures  most 
necessary  for  the  defence  of  the  city,  and  for  this 
purpose  a  dictator  was  appointed,  according  to 
ancient  custom.  Religious  duties  were  not  for- 
gotten ;  serious  consideration  was  given  to  the  best 
means  of  averting  the  anger  of  the  gods,  which 
was  displayed  in  these  repeated  calamities,  and  it 
is  said  that  messengers  were  sent  even  to  Delphi, 
the  ancient  oracle,  to  secure  this  information. 
Some  sacrifices  must  also  be  made  to  the  wild  super- 
stition of  the  excited  multitude,  and,  in  accordance 
with  the  oracle,  a  Gaulish  man  and  woman  and  a 
Greek  man  and  woman  were  buried  alive  in  the 
forum.  More  important  was  the  fact  that  the  dis- 
sension among  the  ruling  classes,  which  had  largely 
contributed  to  the  previous  defeats,  was  now  at  an 
end.  There  had  been  strife  between  a  senatorial 
party  and  a  popular  party,  an  opposition  apparent 
throughout  Roman  history  ;  Terentius  Varro,  who 
was  responsible  for  the  disaster,  belonged,  as  we 
shall  remember,  to  the  popular  party.  Against  the 
advice  of  the  other  Consul,  ^Emihus  Paulus,  and 
against  the  counsel  of  the  old  Fabius,  he  had  plunged 
recklessly  into  battle,  and  his  action  had  ended  in 
this  appalling  catastrophe.  We  might  expect  that 
general  indignation  and  popular  excitement  would 
have  been  visited  upon  him  personally.  But  the 
Senate  was  wiser.     At  this  moment  there  could  be  no 


198         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

parties  in  the  State,  and  when  the  surviving  Consul, 
Varro,  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Capitol 
with  such  remnants  of  the  army  as  he  could  collect, 
the  Senate  came  out  to  meet  him  and  to  thank  him 
because  he  had  not  despaired  of  the  Republic.  He 
was,  however,  removed  from  command,  though  no 
stigma  was  inflicted. 

Rome,  which  was  in  any  case  a  strong  fortress, 
was  thus  entirely  secured  against  any  surprise  a  few 
days  after  the  defeat.  Hannibal  knew  his  adver- 
saries too  well,  and  was  too  conscious  of  their  real 
powers  to  contemplate  any  attempt  of  the  kind. 
Like  all  great  men,  he  was  not  waging  war  for  its 
own  sake,  and  would  have  been  very  ready  to 
conclude  a  moderate  peace  with  Rome,  which 
would  have  checked  the  crushing  superiority  of  the 
Romans,  and  have  restored  to  his  own  city  the  losses 
of  the  previous  generation.  At  this  moment  he 
summoned  the  Roman  citizens  from  among  the 
prisoners,  and  addressed  them  in  moderate  terms, 
explaining  that  he  was  not  waging  war  to  the  knife, 
offering  the  possibility  of  ransom,  and  permitting 
them  to  choose  ten  delegates  to  discuss  the  matter 
in  Rome.  They  were  accompanied  by  a  distin- 
guished Carthaginian,  a  confidant  of  Hannibal — by 
name  Carthalo — who  was  commissioned  to  explain 
the  conditions  upon  which  Hannibal  was  prepared 
to  conclude  peace. 

Carthalo  himself  was  not  admitted  within  the 
city  ;  the  delegates,  however,  were  allowed  to  enter 
and  to  plead  their  cause  before  the  Senate.     The 


APPENDIX  199 

historian  Livy  places  a  moving  speech,  which  you 
will  afterwards  read  for  yourselves,  in  the  mouth  of 
their  spokesman,  and  every  effort  was  made  to 
move  the  fathers  to  pity  ;  a  numerous  company  had 
assembled  before  the  Curia  demanding  with  loud 
complaints  and  cries  that  the  Senate  should  permit 
the  ransom  of  their  sons,  their  fathers,  or  their 
brothers  from  the  hardships  of  captivity.  For  a 
moment,  indeed,  the  Senate  hesitated,  as  it  had 
done  two  generations  earlier  ;  who  can  tell  me 
upon  what  occasion  ?  But  here,  again,  a  man  was 
found,  like  Appius  Claudius  on  the  former  occa- 
sion, to  explain  to  the  Senate  what  the  Roman  people 
owed  to  itself,  and  to  assert  that  there  could  be  no 
question  of  peace  or  submission  so  long  as  the  enemy 
remained  upon  Italian  soil  ;  this  man  was  T.  Manlius 
Torquatus,  a  descendant  of  that  Manlius  Torquatus 
who  had  formerly  sacrificed  his  own  son  to  the 
severity  of  Roman  military  discipline  at  a  crisis 
of  the  Latin  war.  He  led  the  opposition,  and  the 
Roman  Senate  passed  a  resolution  which,  terribly 
severe  as  it  was,  was  in  consonance  with  the  desperate 
situation  of  their  Republic.  Ransom  was  forbidden 
and  peace  proposals  rejected  ;  the  delegates  re- 
turned, and  the  Roman  people  without  a  murmur 
submitted  to  the  heroic  resolution  of  its  government. 
Such  is  the  behaviour  of  a  brave  nation  and  a  strong 
government  in  time  of  difficulty,  and  Livy  says  that 
this  war  was  more  memorable  than  any  that  had 
preceded  it,  because  it  was  the  struggle  of  a  great 
leader  and  general  with  a  great  nation. 


200         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 


Fourth  Form. 

(In  order  to  explain  our  idea  of  the  master's 
narrative  lecture,  we  have  chosen  the  somewhat 
difficult  subject  of  the  conflict  between  King  and 
Pope,  between  Henry  IV.  and  Gregory  VII.) 

In  October,  1075,  the  dangerous  revolt  in  Saxony 
had  been  completely  crushed,  and  Pope  Gregory  had 
also  congratulated  the  King  upon  this  victory. 
Differences  of  opinion  on  subjects  of  negotiation 
divided  them,  but  as  yet  there  had  been  no  open 
breach.  Now,  however,  that  the  Pope  had  overcome 
initial  difficulties,  he  proceeded  with  that  ruthless 
boldness  characteristic  of  him  to  prosecute  the  strict 
ecclesiastical  ideas  which  are  generally  known  as 
Cluniac,  from  the  monastery  in  Aquitaine  in  which 
Gregory  himself  had  lived  for  some  time.  He 
strove  first  of  all  to  suppress  the  marriage  of  the 
priests  and  the  practice  known  as  simony,  from  the 
name  of  Simon,  as  mentioned  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment story  ;  this  Simon  had  offered  money  to  the 
Apostles  Peter  and  John  in  Samaria,  that  he  might 
also  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  laying 
on  of  hands.  In  the  eyes  of  Gregory  and  the  strict 
ecclesiastical  party,  the  priests  who  received  ecclesi- 
astical office  from  a  layman,  or  a  layman  who  offered 
such  office,  were  alike  guihy  of  simony,  winch  Mas 
condemned  as  a  deadly  sin. 

Such  practices  were  then  very  common  on  the  part 
both  of  clergy  and  laity  ;  however,  in  February  of 


APPENDIX  201 

that  year  Gregory  threatened  certain  of  the  King's 
councillors   with   excommunication   on   the   ground 
that  they  had  been  guilty  of  simony.     He  was  fully 
inspired  by  the  idea  that  in  every  case  the  ecclesi- 
astical should  be  dominant  over  the  secular  power, 
and  that  the  priesthood  should  rule  all  princes  and 
kingdoms  ;  it  was  only  natural  that  he  should  come 
into  violent  conflict  with  existing  authorities  and 
make    many    enemies.     Among    the    superior    and 
inferior   German   clergy   he   had   many   opponents, 
who  were  alarmed  by  his  ruthless  procedure  ;  in 
Lombardy  there  was  a  strong  opposition  party,  and 
it  was  known  that  a  similar  party  existed  in  Rome 
itself,    which    even    attacked    and    ill-treated    him 
during  the  Christmas  of  1075.     Henry,  who  was  now 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  therefore  considered  that  he 
might  easily  maintain  the  old  royal  rights  against  the 
Pope,    and    did    not    take    his    threat      seriously. 
Gregory,  however,  was  well  aware  of  the  difficulties 
of  the  King's  position,  nor  was  he  a  man  to  utter 
empty  threats.     In  full  seriousness  he  was  advancing 
this  claim,  which  we  now  regard  as  presumptuous 
and    unchristian,    and    as    incompatible    with    the 
Divine  command  that  we  should  render  unto  Caesar 
the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the  things 
that  are  God's.     The  councillors  were  excommuni- 
cated, and  Papal  legates  came  to  the  royal  court 
demanding  that  the  King  should  separate  himself 
from  the  excommunicated  and  should  change  his 
attitude,  which  vexed  the  Church  ;  in  case  of  resist- 
ance, he  was  himself  to  be  excommunicated.     The 


202  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

King  was  angry,  as  was  but  natural  ;  he  immediately 
summoned  the  Bishops  and  the  chief  clergy  of  his 
Empire  to  a  Synod  at  Worms,  where  the  deposition 
of  Gregory  was  discussed.  In  a  synod  at  Piacenza 
the  Lombard  Bishops  supported  this  resolution,  and 
Henry's  ambassadors  appeared  at  Borne  in  February, 
1076,  to  communicate  the  deposition  to  a  Lateran 
Council  and  to  secure  its  execution.  The  Council, 
however,  was  entirely  on  Gregory's  side,  and  the 
Pope  was  thus  able  to  deliver  a  counterstroke, 
which  re-echoed  throughout  the  world.  With  great 
solemnity,  he  pronounced  sentence  of  excommuni- 
cation upon  the  first  Prince  in  Christendom,  con- 
cluding with  the  text  upon  which  the  Roman 
Church  founds  its  claim  to  supremacy  :  "  Thou  art 
Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  found  my  church, 
and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it  " 
(Matt.  xvi.  18). 

Gregory  was  able  to  take  this  bold  step  because 
the  consistency  with  which  he  championed  the 
sternest  and  strictest  ideas  widely  impressed  the 
people  and  corresponded  with  the  opinions  prevalent 
at  that  time  ;  he  was  also  helped  by  the  fact  that 
Henry  was  opposed  by  most  of  the  German  Princes, 
who  suspected  him  of  planning  a  boundless  extension 
of  his  royal  power,  and  feared  him  because  he  was 
a  man  of  unusual  capacity.  They  came  to  a 
mutual  agreement,  and  Otto  of  Nordheim,  the  most 
important  of  the  German  nobles,  again  came  forward 
in  opposition  to  the  King,  whose  high  confidence  he 
had  enjoyed  for  a  time.     They  entered  into  alliance 


APPENDIX  203 

with  Pope  Gregory,  who  was  to  aid  them  in  their 
object  of  deposing  the  King — an  object  which  could 
not  immediately  and  directly  be  attained.  They 
met  at  Tribur,  in  the  modern  Grand  Duchy  of  Hesse, 
and  as  the  King  was  both  too  weak  and  too  politic 
to  use  force,  a  kind  of  compromise  was  arranged  ; 
this,  however,  was  not  seriously  meant,  and  the 
hostile  views  and  opinions  of  the  princes  were  but 
thinly  veiled.  They  granted  the  King  a  short  period 
— to  February  22  of  the  following  year — to  secure 
his  release  from  the  sentence  of  excommunication  ; 
until  that  date  he  was  to  abstain  from  the  business 
of  government,  and  not  even  to  wear  the  royal 
insignia.  In  February  there  was  to  be  an  assembly 
of  the  Princes  at  Augsburg,  at  which  the  Pope  would 
be  present,  and  a  decision  would  then  be  taken ; 
this  was  a  shameful  resolution,  and  would  have  de- 
stroyed both  the  secular  power  and  their  own. 
Moreover,  the  resolution  was  neither  honourable  nor 
honestly  intended.  They  believed,  and  with  reason, 
that  they  might  suppose  the  King  would  be  unable  to 
secure  his  release  from  the  sentence  of  excommunica- 
tion by  the  Pope.  The  Pope,  in  fact,  soon  prepared 
for  his  journey  to  Germany,  where  Augsburg  was 
his  goal,  and  at  this  meeting  he  expected  to  become 
the  judge  of  all  the  powers  on  the  earth  ;  he  had 
harshly  rejected  Henry's  desire  to  come  himself  to 
Rome  for  absolution.  At  that  moment  he  suddenly 
learnt  that  Henry  was  on  the  road  to  Italy. 

This  had,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  been  the  King's 
determination,    but   his    measures   were   taken   for 


204  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

other  purposes  than  those  which  Gregory  assumed. 
The  Pope  supposed  that  Henry  intended  to  secure 
absolution  by  force.  But  the  King,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven,  was  too  politic  to  adopt  these 
methods  ;  he  saw  that  the  union  of  his  two  enemies, 
the  Princes  and  the  Pope,  would  certainly  crush  him, 
and  he  also  saw  that  both  were  anxious  to  make  his 
absolution  impossible  ;  if,  therefore,  he  did  not  per- 
form the  conditions  of  absolution,  he  would  be 
playing  into  their  hands.  This  excuse  must  not  be 
given  them.  With  wise  and  rapid  decision,  he 
resolved  to  secure  his  absolution  from  the  Pope, 
not  by  force  of  arms,  but  by  moral  suasion  and  by 
a  striking  act  of  penance,  which  would  satisfy  the 
Church's  claims.  He  left  Spires,  where  he  had  last 
been  staying,  and,  accompanied  by  a  few  followers 
and  by  his  wife,  whom  he  had  misunderstood  and 
unworthily  treated,  he  crossed  Mont  Cenis  in  the 
depth  of  winter.  The  winter  is  described  as  un- 
usually cold,  and  the  Rhine  was  frozen  for  a  long 
time,  until  the  month  of  March,  1077.  The  journey 
was  extremely  laborious,  for  at  that  time  there  were 
no  railways  through  the  Alps  and  no  high  roads. 
When  he  reached  Italy,  he  did  not  listen  to  the 
offers  of  the  Lombard  malcontents,  who  hated 
Gregory  most  bitterly,  but  hastened  onward  to  the 
Pope.  The  latter  was  entirely  under  the  impression 
that  the  German  King  was  coming  with  hostile  inten- 
tions, and  had  therefore  betaken  himself  to  the  castle 
of  the  most  faithful  servant  of  St.  Peter — that  is  to 
say,  of  the  Church — and  its  supreme  head ;  this  was 


APPENDIX  205 

Mathilda,  Countess  of  Tuscany,  and  the  castle  was 
Canossa.  Before  this  lonely  Tuscan  castle  King 
Henry  appeared  with  a  few  followers  in  a  hair  shirt 
and  barefoot,  the  usual  apparel  of  the  penitent. 
Admission  was  refused  both  on  that  day  and  on  the 
second  day,  when  he  reappeared  and  spent  the  whole 
day  within  the  inner  and  outer  circuit  walls. 
Within  the  castle  very  important  discussions  were 
proceeding,  and  decision  was  necessary.  The  situa- 
tion was  as  clear  to  the  Pope  as  it  was  difficult.  If 
he  released  the  King  from  excommunication,  he 
would  break  his  agreement  with  his  present  allies, 
the  German  Princes  ;  Henry  would  be  able  to  re- 
appear as  King,  and  the  Augsburg  Assembly  would 
have  neither  object  nor  purpose.  If  he  refused 
absolution,  he  was  contradicting  his  own  priestly 
character ;  he  was,  indeed,  committing  blasphemy 
if  he  refused  to  absolve  a  sinner  who  was  ready  to 
perform  full  penance — a  King  and  a  young  man 
who  had  given  full  proof  of  his  penitence  by  his 
journey  across  the  Alps  in  winter  to  satisfy  the 
claims  of  the  Church.  It  was  impossible  for  him  to 
refuse,  and  this  seems  to  have  been  explained  to 
him  by  Countess  Mathilda  and  by  Hugo,  the  Abbot 
of  the  Monastery  of  Clugny,  who  was  with  him. 
On  the  third  day  the  gate  of  the  inner  wall  was 
opened,  and  absolution  was  pronounced  by  the  Pope 
without  further  difficulty,  as  far  as  we  know.  The 
Pope,  indeed,  imposed  numerous  severe  conditions 
upon  the  King,  but  these  did  not  alter  the  great 
and  decisive  fact   of  absolution'';   Henry  had  been 


20G         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

received  again  as  a  member  of  the  Church,  and  was 
therefore  justified  in  reappearing  as  King. 

It  is  constantly  urged  that  King  Henry's  appear- 
ance at  Canossa  was  a  great  disgrace  and  a  deep 
humiliation  to  the  German  monarchy.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  correct  view.  Henry  did  penance 
in  the  usual  form,  as  another  great  Emperor  had 
done — Theodosius,  in  Milan — at  the  command  of 
Bishop  Ambrosius.  He  did  what  every  Christian 
conscious  of  guilt  was  accustomed  and  bound  to 
do ;  here  there  was  nothing  to  diminish  his  royal 
honour  and  nothing  that  was  unworthy  of  him. 
He  was  doing  penance  before  the  supreme  head  of 
the  Church — the  King  before  the  first  Bishop — and 
he  was  humbling  himself  before  the  Church  and  before 
God  and  His  priest,  not  before  Gregory.  It  was  rather 
Gregory  who  was  the  defeated  party  ;  he  had  been 
forced  to  do  what  he  did  not  wish,  and  what  he  had 
expressly  or  implicitly  promised  the  German  Princes 
that  he  would  not  do.  It  must  rather  be  accounted 
a  merit  to  King  Henry  that  by  extorting  this  abso- 
lutism he  overthrew  the  shameful  plans  of  the  hostile 
princes,  whose  hatred  had  invited  and  empowered 
the  Pope  to  make  himself  supreme  over  the  German 
crown.  This  supremacy  would  have  been  a  heavy 
blow  to  the  Empire  as  to  the  Church,  to  the  secular 
as  to  the  ecclesiastical  power,  and  the  wound  in- 
flicted would  never  have  been  healed. 

Henry's  position  immediately  improved  ;  the 
Pope's  alliance  with  the  German  Princes  grew  weak 
and  became  ineffective,    and  a  contemporary  his- 


APPENDIX  207 

torian  informs  us  that  the  Princes  were  thunder- 
struck by  the  news  that  the  sentence  of  excommuni- 
cation had  been  removed. 

When  this  narrative  has  been  concluded,  Henry's 
further  history  must  be  briefly  explained  ;  we  shall 
observe  the  course  of  events,  the  master  will  say, 
under  the  following  main  points  : 

1.  The  Princes  hostile  to  Henry,  acting  hence- 
forward without  the  co-operation  of  the  Pope, 
elected,  in  March,  1077,  at  Forcheim,  an  opposition 
King,  Duke  Rudolf  of  Suabia.  The  result  was 
war  ;  it  was  not  until  1080  that  Pope  Gregory 
plainly  declared  for  Rudolf,  but  the  latter  fell  in 
battle  at  Hohenmolsen  (Elster)  in  this  same  year. 

2.  The  second  opposition  King,  Hermann  of  Lux- 
emburg, was  of  no  great  importance.  Henry,  who 
had  been  in  Italy  from  1081,  was  able  to  set  up  an 
opposition  Pope,  Clement  III.,  who  crowned  him 
in  1084  in  the  Lateran  as  Roman  Imperator. 

3.  Gregory,  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  summons 
the  Normans,  who  liberate  him,  plunder  Rome,  and 
carry  him  away  ;  he  dies  in  1085  at  Salerno  in 
their  territory.  The  civil  or  party  war  continued 
both  in  Germany  and  Italy. 

4.  Henry  returned  in  1084,  and  in  1093  was 
obliged  to  subdue  a  revolt  led  by  his  son  Conrad. 

5.  He  then  enjoyed  a  few  years  of  comparative 
peace,  while  the  crusading  movement  began,  and 
stimulated  the  idea  of  peace  among  all  Christians. 

6.  In  1103  a  new  conspiracy  on  the  part  of  the 
Princes  and  the  treachery  of  his  son,  who  got  the 


208  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Emperor  into  his  power  by  cunning,  and  ill-treated 
him,  obliged  the  King  to  abdicate. 

7.  The  war  is  renewed  ;  the  Emperor  again 
appears  on  the  field,  but  dies  in  1106. 

(The  master  may  choose,  as  he  will,  any  one  point 
for  more  detailed  treatment.  Our  only  object  is  to 
give  an  example  of  the  two  kinds  of  narrative — 
that  continuous,  and  that  in  outline.) 

Upper-Fourth  Form. 

In  the  case  of  this  Form  we  propose  to  give  only 
one  or  two  lines  of  thought,  which  may  serve  to 
connect  a  long  revision  lasting  over  one  or  two 
lessons  ;  the  subject  will  be  given  out  to  the  Form 
beforehand,  in  order  that  the  pupils  may  read  the 
necessary  sections  of  the  text-book  from  this  point  of 
view,  and  thus  take  the  first  step  in  that  science 
which  we  may  call  applied  history.  The  master 
will  have  worked  through  the  medieval  history  with 
this  Form  in  the  Lower  Third  ;  should  he  feel  the 
need  of  some  revision  of  that  period,  he  may  begin  it 
when  he  has  passed  the  threshold  of  modern  history, 
that  is,  the  deed  of  the  Augustinian  monk,  Luther, 
in  1517;  the  revision  should  not  be  too  detailed, 
and  may  appear  as  an  examination  of  one  of  the 
most  characteristic  phenomena  of  the  Middle  Ages ; 
the  monastic  system;  the  origins  of  the  system; 
monasticism  in  the  West ;  the  Benedictines,  729  ;  the 
Cluniacs  of  Clugny  in  910  ;  the  Cistercians  and  Prse- 
monstratensiens  ;  orders  of  knights,  and  mendicant 


APPENDIX  209 

orders.  A  master  of  only  moderate  skill  can  here  ask 
questions  concerning  the  general  characteristics  or 
the  most  important  personalities  about  1096,  1190, 
1216,  and  1226.  This  revision,  however,  must  be 
done  in  free  form,  without  manuscript  or  notes,  and 
he  must  therefore  have  in  his  head  an  outline 
which  will  guide  him  from  point  to  point,  as  other- 
wise he  will  easily  go  astray  amid  the  complications 
of  the  matter. 

Assuming  that  the  period  from  1517  to  1555  has 
been  worked  through  from  lesson  to  lesson  by 
lecture  and  revision,  the  knowledge  acquired  will 
be  examined,  extended,  and  consolidated  by  a 
general  revision  from  the  standpoint  of  the  history 
of  one  or  two  territories — Saxony,  for  instance,  or 
Brandenburg — and  of  two  reigning  families — the 
Wettiner  and  the  Hohenzollerns.  What  districts 
does  the  name  embrace  ?  What  was  the  attitude 
of  the  dynasty  to  the  Reformation  movement  ? 
That  of  the  individual  rulers  ?  This  method  will 
produce  many  useful  questions  quite  naturally. 

The  period  from  1555  to  1618  should  be  treated 
in  the  same  way  :  ducal  and  electoral  Saxony ;  the 
Universities  of  Jena  and  Wittenberg  and  their  im- 
portance ;  the  adoption  of  Calvinistic  Protestantism 
in  1613  by  Johann  Sigismund  of  Brandenburg.  An 
attempt  must  be  made  to  show  the  connexion  of 
German  with  general  European  history  for  this 
period,  as  regards  its  most  important  dates.  This 
may  be  done  in  the  following  way  : 

First  give  the  most  important  dates — 1556  (1558), 

U 


210  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

1571,  1572,  1579  ;  or  1581,  1588,  1589,  1603,  1608, 
1609,  1610,  1618  ;  the  respective  events  will  then  be 
assigned  to  each  date  by  the  pupils  :  the  accession 
of  Philip  II.  in  Spain  ;  the  accession  of  Elizabeth, 
and  the  triumph  of  the  Reformation  in  England  ; 
the  battle  of  Lepanto  ;  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew at  Paris  ;  the  creation  of  the  new  State  of  the 
united  Netherlands. ;  the  defeat  of  the  Armada  ;  the 
accession  of  Henry  IV.  in  France  ;  the  House  of  Stuart 
in  England ;  the  Evangelical  union  ;  the  quarrel  for 
the  succession  of  Cleves  and  Juliers,  and  the  death 
of  Henry  IV.  of  France ;  events  in  Prague,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  The  master 
will  then  go  through  the  events  in  the  same  order, 
the  boys  one  after  another  giving  the  dates. 

The  section  dealing  with  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
from  1618  to  1648,  can  easily  be  revised  in  one 
lesson,  and  an  exact  impression  given  of  the  terri- 
torial conditions  of  our  continent  as  constituted  by 
the  peace.  To  make  the  progress  of  the  war  clear 
to  pupils  and  easy  to  retain  in  their  memories,  a 
few  dates  and  names  will  be  sufficient,  such  as  1618 
and  1 620 ;  the  battle  at  the  White  Mountain ;  the 
edict  of  restitution  in  1629  ;  the  dismissal  of  Wallen- 
stein  and  the  landing  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  in  1630  ; 
Battle  of  Liitzen  in  1632 ;  the  Peace  of  Prague  in 
1635  ;  the  Diet  of  Regensburg  in  1640,  and  the 
Peace  in  1648.  It  will  also  be  advisable  to  have  the 
successive  battle-fields  named. 

Of  the  three  sections  of  the  second  main  period 
of  modern  history,  the  Upper  Fourth  is  concerned 


APPENDIX  211 

only  with  the  two  first— 1648-1700  and  1700-1740  ; 
for  the  general  revision  of  the  first  the  following  lines 
of  thought  will  be  useful.  (Naturally  there  are 
many  others  available.) 

1.  The  most  important  treaties  of  peace:  (1648), 
1659,  1668,  1679,  1697  (1699)  ;  here  there  is  a  point 
which  experienced  teachers  will  not  despise — the 
sequence  of  numbers— which  facilitates  the  memor- 
izing of  these  dates  :  48,  68,  59,  79,  97.  The  figures 
can  also  be  inspired  with  some  life,  an  equally  im- 
portant point,  by  calculating  the  years  which 
separate  each  new  peace. 

2.  The  great  and  important  personalities  of  this 
epoch  :  Louis  XIV.,  William  of  Orange,  Peter  the 
Great,  etc. 

3.  The  misfortunes  and  successes  of  Germany. 

(a)  The  Empire  and  its  losses. 

(6)  The  Hapsburg  Monarchy,  1683,  1697,  1699. 

(c)  The  rise  of  the  Prussian  State. 

The  second  of  these  periods — 1700-1740 — can  be 
revised  by  repeating  the  most  important  rulers,  with 
their  dates,  arranged  according  to  countries,  con- 
cluding with  the  distribution  of  territory  as  it  was 
in  1740. 

Lower  Fifth. 

For  this  Form  I  give  a  fragment  of  an  attempt  to 
sketch  the  conditions  prevailing  in  the  German 
Empire  ;  this  might  form  the  beginning  of  the  year's 
course  as  introductory  to  German  history  for  the  last 

14—2 


212         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

150  years,  as  above  presupposed  ;  or — and  perhaps 
this  is  more  advisable — it  might  form  a  conclusion  of 
the  second  main  period  of  modern  history  (1648-1789), 
and  be  introductory  to  the  last  section  (1789-1815). 
Here  I  assume  the  latter  plan  to  be  adopted.  My 
information  is  derived  from  Biedermann's- excellent 
work — Deutschland  im  18.  Jahrhundert,  vol.  i.  (Leip- 
sic,  1854). 

At  the  present  day  the  German  Empire  is  in- 
habited by  some  56,000,000  inhabitants,  and  has 
an  area  of  540,000  square  kilometres,  comprising 
twenty-six  States  ;  the  largest  of  these — Prussia — 
has  348,000  square  kilometres  and  32,000,000  in- 
habitants ;  and  the  smallest — the  town  of  Liibeck — 
has  297  kilometres  and  97,000  inhabitants.  All  of 
these  States,  with  the  exception  of  the  three  re- 
publican towns,  are  governed  by  hereditary  monar- 
chies ;  the  Prince  shares  the  legislative  power  with 
an  elected  assembly  of  representatives,  and  the  rights 
of  the  citizens  are  protected  by  a  written  constitu- 
tion, a  State  charter.  The  administration,  military 
service,  finance,  justice,  and  education  are  regulated 
by  law,  within  which  law  every  German  can  give 
free  expression  to  his  opinions  ;  religious  creed 
makes  no  difference  in  the  enjoyment  of  those  rights 
which  every  citizen  can  claim. 

We  shall  now  attempt  to  realize  some  features  of 
the  picture  which  our  country  presented  150  years 
ago,  in  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Upon  an  area  of  12,000  square  miles — some 
3,000  more  than  the  present  German  Empire  in- 


APPENDIX  213 

eludes — lived,  about  the  middle  of  the  previous 
century,  from  26,000,000  to  30,000,000  inhabitants. 
A  motley  assemblage  of  large,  small,  minor  and 
insignificant  territories  or  States  were  distributed, 
since  1510,  into  ten  circles.  Of  such  territorial 
States,  with  less  than  120  square  miles,  the  German, 
or  rather  the  Roman,  Empire  included  about  eighty  ; 
to  these  must  be  added  about  thirty  lordships  and 
1,400  to  1,600  knights'  estates.  Al]  these  had  the 
right  or  the  power  to  inflict  damage  upon  their 
neighbours,  their  own  subjects,  or  the  Empire  at 
large,  by  customs  dues,  prohibitions  of  trade,  and 
industrial  monopolies,  and  that  hateful  symbol  of 
sovereign  power,  the  gallows,  was  to  be  found  in 
the  smallest  State. 

The  Emperor  was  of  little  importance.  Upon 
the  occasion  of  his  coronation  at  Frankfort-on- 
Maine,  he  came  upon  the  scene  with  great  splendour. 
On  that  occasion  the  hereditary  officials,  of  whom 
we  have  heard,  performed  their  functions  ;  forty-four 
ruling  Counts  carried  the  dishes  to  the  Coronation 
meal.  We  have  previously  read  in  our  reading-book 
the  incomparable  description  by  Goethe  of  the  elec- 
tion and  coronation  of  the  Archduke  Joseph,  after- 
wards the  Emperor  Joseph  II.,  as  Roman  King  in 
1764.  The  Emperor  then  signed  the  capitulations 
of  election,  in  which  the  most  important  point  was 
that  the  several  States  and  territories  were  every- 
thing, and  the  Emperor  himself  was  nothing.  The 
Emperor  had  no  power  abroad,  for  the  Princes  and 
estates  possessed  the   right   of   concluding  treaties 


214  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

with  one  another  and  with  foreign  countries.  He 
had  equally  little  power  at  home,  for  the  privileges 
of  the  estates  to  which  he  was  obliged  to  swear 
embraced  complete  domestic  power,  and  he  was  ex- 
pressly obliged  to  renounce  any  idea  of  making  his 
position  hereditary  in  his  own  family.  After  this 
he  entered  upon  the  enjoyment  of  his  legal  rights, 
and  the  extent  of  these  can  be  estimated  by  the 
income  which  the  Emperor  gained  from  the  Empire 
— a  sum  of  14,000  florins  annually. 

At  the  same  time,  the  person  of  the  Emperor  was 
the  one  point  of  unity  for  the  Empire ;  the  Imperial 
Diet  which  met  at  Regensburg  implied  no  bond  of 
union.  In  unimportant  affairs  it  might  be  possible 
to  unite  the  three  chambers  of  the  Diet — the  college 
of  Electors,  the  college  of  Princes,  and  the  college  of 
the  Imperial  Towns  for  co-operation  with  the  Em- 
peror ;  in  important  affairs,  however,  this  was  im- 
possible. Even  more  ominous  was  the  fact  that 
when  religious  questions  were  under  discussion  no 
majority  vote  was  taken,  but  the  Diet  divided  into 
two  corporations  —  the  Corpus  Evangelicorum  and 
the  Corpus  Catholicorum  ;  decision  was  thus  impos- 
sible, though  some  understanding  might  be  secured 
after  long  negotiation.  Moreover,  every  important 
affair  could  be  represented  in  the  last  resort  as  a 
religious  matter.  Questions,  even  if  they  had  no 
connexion  with  religion,  were  naturally  retained  for 
years  upon  the  "  Imperial  agenda "  ;  when  they 
at  length  came  up  for  discussion  they  were  im- 
mediately  referred    to    a   preparatory   committee  ; 


APPENDIX  215 

debate  began,  and  claims,  points  of  privilege,  mis- 
givings, objections,  provisos,  and  so  forth,  came  in 
from    all    sides  ;    resolutions,    protocols,    protests, 
clauses  were  infinite.     Should  some  decision  have 
eventually    been    secured,     executive    power    was 
wanting,   and  there  were  no   pecuniary  resources, 
so  that  it  was  necessary  to  turn  to  the  goodwill  of 
individual  states,  and  this  was  generally  far  to  seek. 
We  may  take  an  instance  which  extends  throughout 
the   century.     In   the   peace   of   Ryswick   in    1697 
Kehl  and  Philippsburg  were  restored  to  the  Empire, 
and  the  Diet  resolved  to  repair  or  to  keep  in  repair 
the    latter    fortress  ;     the    necessary    money,    the 
"  Roman  months  " — in  the  strange  expression  of  the 
time — was  voted,  but  was  still  unpaid  seventy  years 
later.      In    1714  the  proposals  for  repair  were  re- 
peated ;  in   1716  an  Imperial  rescript  was  issued ; 
the  piteous  requests  of  the  unpaid  workmen  were 
noted  in  the  document,  and  the  matter  was  allowed 
to  drop  until  1753,  when  it  was  resolved  that  all 
improvements  which  necessitated  expense  should  be 
indefinitely  postponed,   and  this  resolution,   at  all 
events,  was  punctiliously  carried  out.     Eventually 
the  fortresses  were  handed  over  to    the  Margrave 
of  Baden,  and  in  1782  the  last  fifteen  men  composing 
the  Imperial  garrison  were  withdrawn.     The  condi- 
tion of  the  military  organization  we  have  already 
seen   in    discussing    the    Battle    of    Rossbach  ;    the 
company,  in  which  the  captain  was  nominated  by  an 
Imperial  Count,  the  first  lieutenant  by  an  Imperial 
town,  and  the  second  by  a  royal  abbess,  is  but  an 


216         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

example,  and  by  no  means  the  worst  instance  of  this 
extraordinary  military  procedure.  Remarkable, 
too,  is  the  strict  equality  of  creed  that  was  main- 
tained ;  the  general  staff  must  contain  an  equal 
number  of  Catholic  and  Evangelical  marshals  and 
generals  of  cavalry.  Wherever  we  turn  our  eyes 
we  observe  a  similar  picture  of  a  mechanism  utterly 
paralyzed.  At  the  same  time  some  notion  of 
national  unity  was  observable,  and  there  was  some 
belief  in  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Empire  in 
the  single  department  of  jurisprudence ;  there  was 
still  an  Imperial  Court  of  Justice  (Reichskammer- 
gericht),  which  had  been  held  in  Wetzlar  from  1693, 
as  none  of  the  larger  Imperial  towns  would  admit 
it  ;  nor  was  there  any  lack  of  legal  business  ;  in  the 
year  1772  there  were  no  less  than  61,233  unheard 
cases  before  this  court.  Procedure  was  indefinitely 
protracted,  and  most  lawsuits  extended  beyond  the 
lifetime  of  prosecutor,  defendant,  witnesses,  judge, 
and  the  point  at  issue.  There  was  also  at  Vienna  an 
authority  immediately  constituted  by  the  Emperor 
— the  Imperial  Court  Council  (Reiclishofrath)—  which 
upon  occasion  reinstated  some  injured  subject  in  his 
rights  when  one  of  the  small  potentates  was  con- 
cerned, such  as  the  Prince  of  Reuss  ;  the  more  im- 
portant rulers  paid  no  attention  to  any  decision  or 
threatened  interference  on  the  part  of  the  Imperial 
Court  Council. 

Thus,  for  good  or  evil,  the  condition  of  the  nation 
Mas  determined  by  the  good  or  bad  intentions  of 
the  individual  territorial  lords.     In  their  own  dis- 


APPENDIX  217 

tricts  their  power  was  unlimited,  and  the  provincial 
estates  were  no  check  upon  its  exercise,  though  they 
had  formerly  been  powerful,  with  the  exception  of 
certain  territories  such  as  the  Duchy  of  Wurtemburg, 
where,  however,  conditions  of  life  were  anything  but 
agreeable  for  this  very  reason.  It  is  a  period  of 
princely  absolutism  ;  its  outset  was  influenced  most 
unfavourably  by  the  example  of  Louis  XIV.  in  the 
direction  of  empty  show,  royal  pomp  and  splendour, 
and  reckless  extravagance,  while  at  its  close  a  para- 
mount influence  was  that  of  Frederick  the  Great 
and  of  his  opponent,  the  Emperor  Joseph  II.  At 
the  same  time  this  princely  absolutism  was  also  pro- 
ductive of  much  good.  The  absolute  Prince  ruled 
through  his  officials ;  these  were  wholly  dependent 
upon  the  Prince,  and  were  treated  by  the  smaller 
Princes  as  mere  servants  ;  the  Emperor  Joseph  II. 
was  the  first  to  address  them  courteously,  though  he 
bitterly  complained  of  their  unwillingness  to  co- 
operate in  his  humanitarian  and  reforming  projects, 
and  of  their  readiness  to  accept  bribes.  Frederick  II. 
was  more  successful,  as  his  ancestors,  and  especially 
his  father,  had  striven  to  create  a  careful,  indus- 
trious, and  conscientious  class  of  officials.  Frederick 
was  able  to  inspire  them  with  a  feeling  of  respect  for 
the  State,  and  the  South  German  officials  held  their 
North  German  colleagues  in  high  esteem.  Among 
the  petty  States  of  Southern  Germany  official  ad- 
ministration was  extremely  bad.  Officials,  treated 
as  servants  by  the  supreme  authority,  protected 
themselves   by  harsh   and  corrupt   administration. 


218  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Their  pay  was  scanty  and  irregular,  apart  from  their 
other  hardships ;  for  instance,  a  Prince  of  Ottingen 
borrowed,  in  separate  sums,  17,000  florins  from  his 
chief  paymaster  ;  when  the  latter  respectfully  re- 
quested payment,  he  was  dismissed  from  office,  and 
the  difficulty  was  not  arranged  until  a  century  later, 
by  a  grant  of  3,000  florins  to  the  heirs  of  this  official. 
Evils  of  this  kind  are  inconceivable  at  the  present 
day,  for  the  reason  that  the  injured  party,  before 
appealing  to  justice,  can  easily  secure  publicity  by 
means  of  our  highly  developed  press.  The  press,  or 
the  publicity,  as  it  was  then  called,  was  in  those 
days  but  scanty  ;  thirty  or  forty  political  papers 
have  been  enumerated  in  the  second  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  as  compared  with  the  many 
thousands  of  the  present  day.  Of  these  the  most 
influential  and  beneficial  was  the  Correspondent 
{Briefivechsel)  of  Von  Schlozer,  a  teacher  of  juris- 
prudence in  Gottingen  ;  this  periodical  lasted  from 
1778  to  1782,  and  its  continuation,  the  Staatsan- 
zeigen,  went  on  from  1783  to  1792.  During  its  best 
period  it  enjoyed  a  circulation  of  about  four  thousand 
copies,  and  Schlozer  was  in  correspondence  with 
every  class  of  society,  and  even  with  royal  Princes  ; 
copies  of  the  periodical  were  to  be  found  upon  the 
study  table  of  Joseph  II.,  and  even  Maria  Theresa 
refers  to  it  :  "It  may  be  published  by  Schlozer  "  ; 
"  What  will  Schlozer  say  to  that  ?"  The  leading 
monarchs,  Frederick  II.  and  Joseph  II.,  had  high 
ideas  upon  the  freedom  of  the  press.  The  former,  in 
his  Antimacchiavell  of   1741,  pleaded  the  cause    of 


APPENDIX  219 

the  newspaper  very  effectively,  and  in  1781  Joseph 
formed  a  censorship  of  enlightened  men  ;  such  en- 
lightened censors  were  highly  necessary,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  a  censor,  who  had  apparently  heard 
something  of  naturalism,  refused  to  pass  the  most 
harmless  book  that  ever  was  written — Raff's  Natural 
History  for  Children — which  old  men  like  myself  have 
read  in  their  early  school-days. 

Before  the  French  Revolution  politics  were  not  a 
subject  of  general  interest.  The  evil  consequences  of 
the  Thirty  Years'  War  and  of  other  wars  had  not 
been  surmounted  ;  at  the  same  time  industrial  life, 
on  which  subject  we  must  say  a  word,  was  impeded 
by  many  obstacles — in  one  case  by  an  excessive 
number  of  holidays,  which,  for  instance,  in  Bavaria 
amounted  to  one  hundred  in  the  year  ;  and  in 
another  case  by  forced  service  of  many  kinds,  as 
when  hundreds  of  peasants  were  called  out  to  cap- 
ture a  deserter.  The  game  and  forest  laws  were  in 
many  places  a  heavy  burden  upon  the  peasantry  ; 
in  Anspach,  for  instance,  the  peasants  were  for- 
bidden to  keep  dogs,  to  be  in  possession  of  guns, 
or  even  to  use  clubs,  under  penalty  of  imprisonment, 
and  were  not  even  allowed  to  fence  in  their  own 
ground  for  protection  against  wild  animals.  The 
saddest  and  most  disgraceful  evidence  of  the  con- 
dition of  our  country  has  always  been  rightly  found 
in  the  trade  in  mercenary  soldiers,  which  some  terri- 
torial lords  carried  on  when  England  was  at  war  with 
her  revolted  North  American  colonies.  The  num- 
bers are  known  :  from   1777  to    1782,  by  English 


220  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

reckoning,  the  country  sent  out  29,100  men,  of  which 
11,853  perished  ;  of  these  Hesse  Cassel  furnished 
16,992 — that  is,  4-55  per  cent,  of  its  population  ; 
those  who  were  permanently  injured  were  not  given 
a  pension,  but  a  special  compensation  was  paid  from 
the  State  chest.  The  local  ruler  followed  this  pro- 
cedure, as  the  terms  of  the  convention  ran  :  "To 
manifest  his  high  devotion  to  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  and  to  attest  his  inherent  sympathy  with 
the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  royal  States  of  Great 
Britain." 

A  century  later,  on  June  15,  1888,  at  the  opening 
of  the  first  Reichstag  under  his  government,  our 
Emperor  said  :  "  My  love  for  the  German  army  and 
my  position  towards  it  will  never  induce  me  to  dis- 
turb the  benefits  of  peace  unless  war  should  be 
forced  upon  us  by  an  attack  upon  the  Empire  or 
its  allies.  Our  army  should  secure  us  in  peace, 
and  must  be  able  to  maintain  its  honour  in  the  field 
if  peace  should  be  broken."  But  before  a  German 
Emperor  could  speak  to  a  German  Reichstag  of  a 
German  nation,  our  nation  was  obliged  to  pass 
through  a  century  of  deep  humiliation  and  severe 
struggle. 

Sixth  Form. 

I  do  not  feel  it  necessary  to  give  any  example  of 
the  manner  in  which  history  should  be  narrated  to 
pupils  at  this  stage,  as  I  have  written  a  lengthy  work, 
A  History  of  the   World  in  Four  Volumes,  the  out- 


APPENDIX  221 

come  of  years  of  teaching,  narrating,  and  lecturing 
to  Upper  and  Lower  Sixth  Forms,  which  was  then 
prepared  for  the  press  during  a  further  series  of 
years,  and  for  a  wider  public  much  on  the  same 
level  of  culture  as  our  Sixth-Form  boys.  This 
work  might  doubtless  be  improved,  but  I  cannot 
so  improve  it,  and  I  will  only  point  out  the  fact 
that  I  am  well  aware  of  the  great  differences 
existing  between  written  and  oral  lectures.  I 
know  that  many  of  my  colleagues  use  that  book 
in  preparing  their  narrative  lessons,  and  my  own 
confidence  in  this  work,  which  has  accompanied 
me  throughout  my  life,  induces  me  to  approve 
their  action.  The  details  are,  however,  too  numer- 
ous, especially  in  the  two  volumes  of  modern 
history  from  1517  to  1900,  to  be  mastered  in  the 
two  years  of  a  Sixth-Form  course.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  analysis  of  the  matter  will  be  useful  to 
younger  colleagues,  and  may  save  them  a  consider- 
able amount  of  trouble  ;  this  arrangement,  even 
down  to  comparatively  small  details,  has  been 
printed  as  an  analysis  in  small  type  in  the  margin, 
in  imitation  of  the  excellent  custom  prevalent  in 
England. 

All  I  can  do  here  for  these  colleagues  is  to  present 
a  series  of  questions  and  leading  points  for  revision 
of  every  kind  and  without  system  for  occasional 
use  ;  these  might  be  infinitely  multiplied  and  im- 
proved. They  are  confined  to  the  Middle  Ages  and 
to  modern  times — the  main  subject  of  the  two  last 
years  of  the  course.     I  would  point  out  that  revision 


222         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

can  also  be  performed  by  conjoining  some  ten  or 
twelve  questions,  as  used  to  be  done  in  the  former 
customary  examinations  ;  but  in  this  case  the 
answers  should  be  given  orally  by  different  pupils  as 
called  upon,  and  not  written.  Whenever  I  have 
been  conducting  a  Form  examination  for  school  cer- 
tificates, I  have  myself  been  grateful  to  any  colleague 
for  good  questions,  and  some  useful  questions  will 
certainly  be  found  in  the  following  collection. 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  nations  have  appeared,  temporarily  or  permanently, 
upon  Italian  soil  between  the  fifth  and  the  eleventh  cen- 
turies ? 

2.  What  were  the  political  features  of  Gaul  about  the  year 
a.d.  486  ? 

3.  What  were  the  political  relations  of  the  Franks  with  the 
Ostrogoths  in  the  age  of  Chlodwig  and  Theodorich  ? 

4.  What  were  the  characteristic  points  of  the  Arian  and 
Athanasian  theories  of  Christianity  ?  Why  was  the  former 
the  more  popular  among  the  Teutonic  tribes  ? 

5.  What  points  mark  the  westward  expansion  of  Mahoni- 
medanism  in  a.d.  641,  699,  711,  and  732  ? 

6.  Explain  and  distinguish  the  terms  allodium,  beneficium. 

7.  How  far  did  Arianism  indirectly  contribute  to  the  increase 
of  the  Papal  power  ? 

8.  With  what  foreign  enemies  was  Charles  the  Great  obliged 
to  struggle  ?  What  were  the  frontiers  of  his  empire  about  the 
year  800  ? 

9.  What  was  the  importance  of  the  event  of  the  year  800,  and 
what  was  the  attitude  and  policy  of  Charles  the  Great  towards 
the  Church  ? 

10.  Name  the  events  which  took  place  in  496,  752,  800,  (951), 
962,  and  explain  their  importance  and  their  connection. 

11.  What  uncivilized  peoples  menaced  European  life,  or,  in 
other  words,  the  imperium  Romanum,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
eighth  to  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century  ? 

12.  Name  the  German  dynasties  from  911-1273,  and  give  the 
individual  rulers. 

223 


224  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

13.  What  is  meant  by  "  simony  "  ? 

14.  With  what  opposition  Kings  had  Henry  IV.  to  struggle  ? 

15.  Explain  the  importance  of  1046,  1077,  1177,  1245,  or  of 
Sutri,  Canossa,  Venice,  Lyons,  with  dates. 

16.  The  Eastorn  Question  in  the  eighth,  tenth,  eleventh,  and 
thirteenth  centuries:  732,  955,  1096,  1241,  1291. 

17.  What  circumstances  hampered  the  prosperity  of  the 
kingdom  of  Jerusalem  and  of  the  other  Colonial  states  ? 

18.  What  attitude  towards  the  Crusades  was  adopted  by  the 
different  German  Kings  from  Henry  IV.  to  Rudolf  of  Haps- 
burg  ? 

19.  1066  :  what  different  elements  or  layers  of  population  are 
apparent  in  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  ? 

20.  What  monastic  orders  succeeded  one  another  in  the 
medieval  world,  and  what  were  their  common  and  individual 
characteristics  ? 

21.  The  Imperial  dynasties  from  1273  to  1439  :  the  individual 
Kings,  with  dates. 

22.  What  are  the  essential  points  of  the  Golden  Bull  ? 

23.  Enumerate  the  most  important  confederations  in  Germany 
during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries. 

24.  What  is  meant  by  the  expression,  "  The  Babylonian 
captivity  of  the  Church  "  ? 

25.  What  Bull  issued  by  what  Pope  during  a  struggle  with 
what  King  most  emphatically  expresses  the  claims  of  Papal 
supremacy  ?     Outline  its  leading  ideas. 

26.  Give  the  main  features  of  John  Wycliffe's  movement. 

27.  The  Reformation  Councils  of  the  fifteenth  century :  why 
was  Huss  condemned  by  a  majority  inclined  to  reform  ? 

28.  Christendom  and  Islam  in  711  and  1453,  or  the  gains  and 
losses  of  the  two  "  world  religions  "  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

29.  A  sketch  of  Sicilian  history  in  the  ^Middle  Ages. 

30.  The  great  discoveries  of  the  fifteenth  (and  sixteenth) 
centuries  as  connected  with  the  dates  1486,  1492,  1498,  1513, 
and  1521. 

31.  With  what  year  and  event  may  modern  history  most 
conveniently  be  conceived  to  begin — 1453,  1492,  1517  ? 

32.  Define  the  main  periods  of  modern  hist  cry. 


QUESTIONS  225 

33.  What  Princes  were  considered  as  candidates  for  the  post 
of  Roman  Emperor  in  1519  ?  What  considerations  determined 
the  votes  of  the  electors  ? 

34.  What  was  the  position  of  the  religious  movement  in  1521, 
1530,  1547,  1555  ? 

35.  What  is  meant  by  "  Ecclesiastical  Reservation  "  ? 

36.  What  territories  were  in  possession  of  members  of  the 
Hohenzollern  family  about  1525,  and  what  was  the  attitude  of 
these  members  to  the  Reformation  ? 

37.  What  was  the  relative  strength  of  the  two  religious  parties 
in  Europe  after  the  religious  peace  of  Augsburg  ? 

38.  What  were  the  relations  and  the  importance  in  the 
history  of  the  world  of  Philip  II.  of  Spain  and  Elizabeth  of 
England  ? 

39.  The  importance  of  the  ninth  decade  of  the  sixteenth 
century  in  the  religious  struggle.  Name  the  most  important 
personalities  of  this  decisive  decade. 

40.  How  far  is  the  year  1588  of  importance  to  the  history  of 
the  world  ? 

41.  Mention  two  questions  of  succession  of  importance  for 
their  bearing  upon  after-German  history — one  in  the  seventeenth 
and  one  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

42.  How  should  the  conversion  of  Henry  IV.  to  Catholicism 
be  judged  ? 

43.  Name  the  Roman  Emperors  from  1558  to  1648,  and  the 
Electors  of  Brandenburg  for  the  same  period. 

44.  Give  a  short  conspectus  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  naming 
the  combatant  powers,  the  most  important  battles,  and  the 
seats  of  war. 

45.  What  were  the  most  important  territorial  arrangements 
made  by  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  ?  What  were  its  effects  upon 
the  constitutional  position  in  Germany  ? 

46.  A  change  of  creed  in  1613  ;  its  importance  in  the  history 
of  toleration.  What  provisions  in  this  direction  were  made  by 
the  Peace  of  Westphalia  ?  Why  did  the  Pope  refuse  to  recognize 
these  provisions  ? 

47.  How  far  is  it  correct  to  regard  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  as 
concluding  the  age  of  religious  strife  ? 

15 


226  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

48.  How  was  it  Croat  Britain  took  no  active  part  upon  the 
Continent  during  the  Thirty  Tears'  War  v 

49.  What  is  meant  by  the  term  "  Puritans  "  ?  What  is  their 
importance  in  the  history  of  England  ? 

50.  Enumerate  the  most  important  treaties  of  peace  during 
the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

51.  What  were  the  losses  and  gains  of  the  German  nation  in 
the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  ?  The  importance 
of  the  years  1657,  1G75,  1681,  1683,  1697,  1699. 

52.  How  far  is  the  year  1685  to  be  regarded  as  especially 
unfortunate  for  Protestantism,  and  the  year  1688  as  especially 
fortunate  ? 

53.  Two  important  accessions  in  the  year  1689. 

54.  How  far  is  the  year  1697  a  fateful  date  to  the  Saxon 
dynasty,  and  how  far  important  to  the  Hohenzollerns  ? 

55.  Explain  the  relative  claims  and  power  of  the  claimants 
on  the  death  of  Charles  II.  of  Spain.  The  areas  of  war  to  1711. 
Why  and  to  what  extent  was  the  situation  changed  in  this  year  ? 

56.  The  attitude  of  Prussia  during  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succes- 
sion.    Her  share  in  the  struggle.     Her  gain  by  the  treaty  of  peace. 

57.  The  territorial  conditions  in  Europe  after  the  peace  of 
Utrecht.     Changes  previous  to  1735. 

58.  The  scene  of  the  Northern  War  ;  the  powers  concerned  ; 
results  as  affecting  the  power  of  Sweden  and  Russia. 

59.  What  was  the  political  and  economic  importance  of  the 
Prussian  army  under  Frederick  William  I.  ? 

60.  What  is  meant  by  the  term  "  Pragmatic  Sanction  "  ? 

61.  Name  the  leading  statesmen  of  France  who  were  also 
ecclesiastical  dignitaries  from  1610  to  1743  (death  of  Flemy). 

62.  Were  the  claims  of  Frederick  II.  to  Silesia  well  founded  ? 

63.  Give  the  main  areas  of  war  during  the  Seven  Years'  War 
and  the  chief  battles  in  chronological  order. 

64.  The  three  treaties  of  peace  with  Austria  and  the  impor- 
tance of  the  conquest  of  Silesia- 

65.  The  period  from  1648  to  1789  is  known  as  the  period  of 
princely  absolutism :  what  two  often-quoted  utterances  character- 
ize the  absolutism  of  Louis  XIV.  and  of  Frederick  the  Great, 
and  show  the  progress  achieved  during  this  period  ? 


QUESTIONS  227 

66.  What  was  the  object  of  Frederick  the  Great  in  founding 
the  federation  of  the  German  Princes  ?  Compare  the  Schmal- 
caldic  League  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Protestant  Union 
of  the  seventeenth,  and  the  German  Customs  Union  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

67.  The  struggle  of  England  with  France  for  command  of  the 
sea  runs  parallel  with  the  Continental  struggles :  what  results 
were  attained  in  India  and  North  America  ? 

68.  The  importance  of  the  Jesuit  Order  in  1543  and 
1773. 

69.  Compare  the  reforms  of  Frederick  II.  and  Joseph  II. 
For  what  reasons  was  Frederick's  work  more  valuable  and 
permanent  than  that  of  Joseph  ? 

70.  Of  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia,  which  secured  the  best 
terms  upon  the  first  partition  of  Poland  ? 

71.  The  French  Constitutions,  with  reference  to  the  Legislative 
Assemblies  of  1791-1804. 

72.  What  is  the  customary  and  what  the  true  criticism  of  the 
Peace  of  Bale  in  1795  ? 

73.  A  pamphlet  appeared  in  Paris  in  the  autumn  of  1799, 
entitled,  "  Cromwell  or  Monk  ?"  To  whom  was  it  sent,  and 
what  must  have  been  the  nature  of  its  contents  ? 

74.  The  most  important  treaties  of  peace  from  1795  to  1815. 

75.  What  turning-points  are  marked  by  the  8  Thermidor  and 
the  18  Brumaire  ? 

76.  What  was  the  extent  of  Napoleon's  Empire  in  the  spring 
of  1812  ? 

77.  Is  any  fundamental  distinction  to  be  drawn  bstween  the 
"  system "  of  Napoleon  I.  and  the  Prussian  legislation  of 
1808  ? 

78.  Pultawa  and  Moscow. 

79.  The  battles  of  1813  in  chronological  order. 

80.  The  distribution  of  European  territory  after  the  second 
Peace  of  Paris  and  the  Congress  of  Vienna. 

81.  The  changes  in  the  map  of  Europe  to  the  years  1848,  1866, 
•1871,  1878. 

82.  The  rulers  of  the  most  important  states  in  Europe  between 
1814  and  1888. 

15—2 


228         THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

83.  How  far  did  |bh.e  German  Customs  Union  prepare  the  way 
for  the  restoration  of  the  German  Empire  ? 

84.  Compare  the  dates  and  define  the  events  of  L529,  1083, 
1697,  1699,  1711,  1774,  1829,  1856,  1878. 

85.  Prussia  and  Sardinia,,  Germany  and  Italy. 

86.  How  far  can  it  be  said  that  William  I.  completed  what  the 
Great  Elector  had  begun  ? 


THE    END 


BII.I.ISi;    AND    SONS,    LTD.,    PRINTERS,    GUILDFORD 


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